Golden Dreams
by RuptureWolfbane
Summary: AU. Rin and Sakura, born as princesses in Kingdom Hoseki. Sakura had everything she could hope for in the palace, while Rin had to endure all the sneers, jeers and insults from other people. But it didn't change how close they were to each other. However, when both of them were married off to Kingdom Kin,they started drifting apart as the hunger for power began to tear away at them
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate Stay Night or Legend of MiYue. This is just a fan's work, nothing more. I make no profit out of this. This is just for my interest in writing, and for those out there who would like to read this, nothing more.

SPOLIERS ALERT: If you are planning to watch Legend of MiYue, then I need to warn you that this story contains heavy spoiler for that drama.

Have fun reading~

**Prologue**

She was lying on the bed, tired after a long morning of going through the matters which her ministers had brought up. Her eyes were closed, and her chest rising and falling slightly. She had told her servants that no one was to disturb her, and no one was allowed into her bed chambers unless she said so.

_Not that there would be anyone who would just barge in like that anymore_.

She thought to herself, smiling at the bitter sweet memories that haunted her every day after that dreadful incident. A lone tear rolled down her wrinkled cheeks, and she wiped it away with the sleeve of her kimono. A sudden shift in the air around her alerted her of someone's presence.

"Who is it?" she asked, opening her eyes a little, but there was nothing amiss in her room.

Footsteps on a wooden floor echoed through the space, and she opened her eyes further. This time, she saw a person walking slowly towards her, a smile on his lips. His glorious golden hair, his crimson eyes, dressed in his golden coloured kimono. He was still the same as she could remember. He came closer, until his shadow was over her.

She was shocked beyond words, but quickly got up from her lying position, supporting her upper body with her elbows.

"My king…" she murmured. He didn't reply. She sat up, reaching out a hand, but still he didn't do anything, or even utter a word. "My king…" she called again, lowering her arm.

"Lady Tohsaka…" he finally said, his smile dimming a little. "What's all this about? You look so much older than I am."

"My king, you are in your primes," she replied, and ran a hand over her face. "But for me, I've grown old without realizing it."

He chuckled, and came closer. "And for all this time, I thought only mongrels would look older than me. Who've thought that you'd be too?"

"You're the king…" she replied, tears brimming in her sapphire blue eyes. "Who are we to dare to look younger than you?"

He laughed, and she realized just how much she had missed that laughter, that voice, and the man who was now standing before her, in all his glory. "Dear me, my lady," he said to her, and sat down on the bed with her. "I would never hope that to happen to the woman I love the most."

He reached out to caress her cheek, and she turned into his touch. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and the golden king wiped them away tenderly.

"Don't cry, or you'll be like all those mongrels out there," he said to her, and she smiled weakly. "I know you must've suffered a lot. Look at how white your hair is."

"Am I the same as those half-breeds now?" she queried, her voice quavering.

But his reply surprised her. "Would I ever do that to you?" he replied, laughing. He pulled her into his strong arms, embracing her in a tight hug.

She remained silent, and savour the moment. She had missed him so much, despite how he had always spoke, despite how he had always acted. But she had loved him all the same. He was the man who had changed so much of her life, of her personality, of her future. Right now, she just wanted to be near to him, and feel him once more.

"My king, for all these years, where have you been? Why did you leave me alone for such a long time?" she asked, sobbing into his chest. One hand touched his face, and lingered there.

"I have always been waiting for you over there…" he replied.

"Where? Where is that place?" she raised her head to look at his face.

He smiled a little, looking down into those sapphire orbs. "You know where that place is. It's _the_ place."

"Where?" she asked again.

This time, the golden king did not reply. He stood up, and stepped away, smiling at her. He looked at her one more time, and began to walk out of the room.

"My king, my king…" she called out, trying to call him back. But he didn't even look back.

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

"Queen Dowager, Queen Dowager, please wake up," her servant, Hoi called her, and shook her gently.

"Queen Dowager, what's wrong?" Yui asked, worried.

"My king, my king," Queen Dowager called out, her eyes fluttering open. She looked at both of her maid servants, and closed her eyes. "Where's the king?" she murmured.

Hoi and Yui looked at each other, not sure what to say.

"The king is busy at the Imperial Court," Hoi answered. "If you wish to see the king, I shall go and invite the king for you."

"No need…" she replied. "I saw him in my dreams just now…" she let out a rasped breath. "He was still the same as ever…"

Yui smiled a little. "No wonder. You've just had a nice dream."

She didn't reply to that. "Help me up."

The two of them scooted forward and help the Queen Dowager up, placing two big pillows behind her back. She leaned back, and closed her eyes, trying to recall her dream. A soft sigh escaped her lips, and another tear slid down her cheek.

She opened her eyes, and looked at her two maid servants. They had white hair as well, just like her. There was no surprise there. The two of them had been with her ever since she had first set foot into the Golden Palace of Kin.

"Hoi, Yui," she said, looking at them in the eyes. "You've followed me for decades. Tell me, if I leave before the both of you one day. Or, you two leave ahead of me, will me meet again at the other side?"

The two servants looked at each other and smiled. "Of course," they replied as one. "The both of us has planned to serve you once more on the other side."

"Then perhaps, I can finally return to Hoseki then…" she said softly.

Yui smiled, and held the queen dowager's hand. "The kingdom where your story began."

She nodded. "Indeed… it all started with the minister's words about a Supreme Star."

~To be continued~

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

And there you have it, the prologue to what may seem like a really long story ahead. This story will retell the life of this Queen Dowager. The characters may seem OOC, but I will try to maintain some of their personalities where I can do so.

Say, has anyone guessed who they are?

Please drop me a review to let me know how this is to you guys. Constructive criticism is welcomed for me improve.


	2. Arc 1: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate Stay Night or Legend of MiYue. This is just a fan's work, nothing more. I make no profit out of this. This is just for my interest in writing, and for those out there who would like to read this, nothing more.

SPOILERS ALERT: If you are planning to watch Legend of MiYue, then I need to warn you that this story contains heavy spoilers for that drama.

To GoodGuy: I planned to have a short prologue. The following chapters will always be around 2.5K words, don't worry.

**And there you guys have it, the new chapter to my fan fic. Just to clarify something, this story starts before the Supreme Star is born, because this is the story of the Star's life. What happened to Aoi, what happened during Aoi's pregnancy, what happened after the child's birth, all these will shape the Supreme Star in the future. All this past is important in future plots. This story is a slow one, but it gives you the chance to see how things develop, what leads to what. How our main character grow and change over the years and incidents that happened. What happened in the past might just come back to bite you one day, you never know it. **

**Please enjoy~**

**Chapter 1 Supreme Star (Part 1)**

It was the era of wars. Numerous kingdoms, big and small, strong and weak. All of their kings were fixed on trying to come out on top as the greatest kingdom of all times. To be remembered by the next generation, to be recorded in history. It was their ultimate goal to unite all the kingdoms into one, but they knew it couldn't be achieved through negotiations. Because one kingdom can only have one king. The other kings would lose their power and become mere peasants if they were to negotiate.

Thus, the only way for them to solve the problem was to go into war. To take another kingdom's land. To weaken their power, or to wipe them off the map forever and take that kingdom as their own. As the war went on, some kingdoms grew bigger in military size and stronger in power, while others began to wither from lack of food and resources due to the war.

Among all the competing kingdoms, Hoseki was the only kingdom to stand out on top, with its kingdom's area the same as the area of all the other kingdoms combined. This could be accredited to the king, who had always treasured the intelligent minds and valued their soldiers and generals.

It was in this kingdom, a legend was born.

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

He was on his way back from a delegation to Ku Kingdom when he saw the changes in the stars. Standing on top of the hill, he stared at the bright star that had just appeared there on that very night.

Every night on his journey back to Hoseki, he had observed that star, making sure that it was still there, and not just a hallucination. To him, although the number of stars in the sky was like the numbers of sand grains in a desert, he could read them like the back of his hand.

He had immediately noticed the birth of a new star on that first night. A star which was born to the side of the Northern Star. A star that was recorded on the archives.

A star, that might just change the course of history.

Now, back at Hoseki, he stood upon the tower where he had always conducted his observations, and looked for the star once more, just to be sure. And sure, there was the star, twinkling brightly in the sky, in the same position where he had first observed its birth. He quickly unscrolled the scroll he held, holding it to a nearby oil lamp, and smiled in satisfaction.

"It's here, it's really here!" he murmured to himself.

He couldn't believe his eyes. It had really appeared, and it would bring great luck to the kingdom itself. He hurried back to the palace to meet the king, who was holding a banquet for his court.

A eunuch announced his arrival, and he entered the banquet hall. The king, Tohsaka Tokiomi, auburn hair, blue eyes, was dressed in a red kimono, a goblet of wine in his hand. The king looked up when he entered, and his brows furrowed in disdain.

"What is wrong with you, Kousuke?" the king thundered. "To come and face me in such filthy garments. Have you no dignity as a minister?"

"My apologies, my king," he immediately apologised. He knew that he should have at least changed and washed his face before coming to meet the king, but he couldn't wait to share the good news. "But I bring good news in exchange for my rudeness."

The king put down his goblet. "Oh, and what may that be?"

"I've observed the stars for some time, and I've noticed the birth of the Supreme Star. This implies that a pregnant woman will give birth to the one who will unite the Six Kingdoms!"

The king looked up. "Kousuke, is this true?"

"My job is to observed the stars and report my findings. Recently I discovered a new star born to the side of the Northern Star. That star shone so brightly, causing the Northern Star and other nearby stars to look dim. Now is the time for change to occur. A great change!" Kousuke exclaimed.

"Is it a good omen? Or?" Tokiomi asked.

Kousuke blinked. "Of course it's a great omen! This is the Supreme Star that I've observed. In order to make sure what I've seen was correct, I went to the archives and the observation tower before coming here to crosscheck the information. When my king's great ancestor was born, this star shone in the skies too. This star signifies that the Six Kingdoms will be united, and this Star shall become the ruler of them all! This star was born to the south of the Virgin Star, which corresponds to the position of Hoseki on the maps. Whoever is pregnant in my king's harem will give birth to the Supreme Star!"

The king was happy beyond words. To conquer all the Six Kingdoms had been the wish of all his ancestors. Now, Kousuke had come forward, saying that this wish would be fulfilled by his child. _**His child. **_He couldn't be happier. Even all the other ministers present at the banquet congratulated him about the news.

"Heed my orders. Find out who is pregnant in my harem now!" he ordered, raising his goblet to his lips.

Moments later, a woman came to ask for audience from the king. She was the minister in charge of all the affairs in the king's harem. She knelt down before the king, head bowed.

"My king…" Reiko said politely.

"I ask of you," Tokiomi began. "Are there any concubines pregnant at the moment?"

The minister raised her head. "Reporting to my king, there are no concubines pregnant in my king's harem."

The king shot an angry look at Kousuke, who immediately knelt and pressed his forward to the wooden floor. "I only speak the truth, my king!"

"But my king," the female minister continued. "But in Lady Kazuha's palace, her dowry maid, Aoi is pregnant. It has been six months."

"Oh? Then what Kousuke has spoken is the truth after all," he murmured. "There truly is a pregnant woman in my harem. As you all know, Enkidu has died. Surely the laws he enacted in Kin would die alongside him. The kingdom under his advice will surely fall apart. Now, with the birth of the Supreme Star in Hoseki, I finally see the hopes of uniting all the kingdoms under one banner!"

All the minters knelt and pressed their heads to the floor. "The sky be upon my king and Hoseki," they all chanted in chorus. "Congratulations, my king!"

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

The queen of Hoseki, Miwako was startled when her escorting maid servant suddenly barged in, out of breath. As far as Miwako knew, Yumi was not the kind of people to get so worked up. She furrowed her brows, and waved so the other servants in the room would leave.

Yumi watched them leave, and immediately closed the door when the last eunuch left the room. "My queen, have you heard what Kousuke told the king?"

The queen sighed. "I've just finished reprimanding Kazuha for her actions of trying to seduce the king with her new kimono. I told her to get rid of the kimono, but she dared to complain about it to other people," Miwako paused. "I have yet to call upon Bakuya to ask about what has happened in the court today."

"Talking about Lady Kazuha, I heard that her dowry maid of Lady Kazuha is pregnant," Yumi said. "According to Kousuke, this unborn child will be the one to conquer all the Six Kingdom, and become the sole ruler of the land. The king was so happy, he immediately promoted Aoi to Lady, since she will soon give birth to the Sumpreme Star."

"Supreme Star?" the queen echoed, confused. "Don't be ridiculous. This kingdom, it's people, it belongs to the king and my son, the Crown Prince. Who is this scum to dare and take everything away? What Kousuke has said is simply absurd!"

"But the king believed every word he said," Yumi replied, lowering her head.

Miwako smirked. "It seems to me that there will be a half-breed who will try to take the title of Crown Prince from my son now. Well, where is the Crown Prince now?"

"The king has ordered the Crown Prince to do self-study at night at the Imperial Study. He should be there now."

"Then call him for me."

"Mother! Mother!" came a young man's voice from outside the queen's palace.

Miwako sighed. "No need then. It seems that he's heard about the news already. He's more worried about the title than I am…"

She watched as her eldest son rushed into her palace, his purple red kimono dishevelled. "Mother, mother, something has happened in court today!"

"Calm down, Aizen. It's the middle of the night now. Do have some manners. You are the Crown Prince after all," Miwako reprimanded her child. "How would other people say about you if you continue to act like a lunatic?"

Aizen stomped his feet in anger. "There's no time to act all gentlemanly right now. Have you not heard? Father is so happy with that bitch, he's allowed her to stay in the Imperial Lotus Room until her child is born!"

Miwako whirled around, her eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. She could almost feel the heat from the anger that was taking control over her. "That bitch… how dare she?! She is just the dowry maid of Kazuha. The king is letting her stay in the Imperial Lotus Room? Absurd!"

The Imperial Lotus Room was a special bedchamber in Hoseki. It had the meaning of warmth, love, loyalty and fertility. For as long as Miwako could remember, no one had stayed in the Imperial Lotus Room except for her, and that was only during her first pregnancy when she gave birth to the Crown Prince. Ever since then, no matter how much affection the other concubines had received from the king, none of them had the honour of staying there.

But now, a lowly dowry maid had managed to live there, and it all happened right under her nose.

"I dare to bet that the king might have a change of heart in the candidate for the Crown Prince," she said, her face pale. But the anger was still clear on her face.

Yumi lowered her head, not daring to meet the queen's gaze. "There's no need to worry yourself over this, my queen. That Aoi is just an dowry maid. From my point of view, this might be a plot of that Lady Kazuha. Whatever words that Kousuke had utter about the stars may just be a lie."

Miwako laughed. She had total control over the king's harem for many years, and knew that Kazuha had the most affection from the king. Hence, she had ordered her servant to put a type of poison in Kazuha's food. Ever since that day, Miwako knew she didn't have to fear about Kazuha getting pregnant.

Without a child, no matter how much affection Kazuha had, it would all end once the king died. Desperate for a child, and desperate for her future, Kazuha had pushed her escorting ladies to win the king's affections. Not long after that, Aoi was pregnant. But all that, Miwako had no fear. Her husband was the king after all, and all the women in the country were his to begin with, and having children with them was none of her concern.

As long as they were not after the title of the queen or Crown Prince.

"Mother, I've thought about it. I was too rash," Aizen said. "Father had made me the Crown Prince for so many years, and I've went through the coronation ceremony. Whenever father leaves for war, he had always told me to stand in to govern the country. Surely this unborn child will not pose a threat to us?"

Miwako looked at her eldest son in disbelief. He looked so carefree about what was going on. Just a minute ago he was running and shouting like a man who had lost his mind. But now, he was so relaxed.

She pointed her finger at him, shouting. "Stupid son, your father left the governing to you because you are the only legitimate son he has. Of course you would be crowned as Crown Prince. But for all these years, has anything that you've done gotten a praise from your father? I was able to live in the Imperial Lotus Room only when I was pregnant with the king's eldest child. Now, that Kazuha, a complete nobody, has been given all the glory and honour! Furthermore, with Kousuke uttering all those nonsense in the royal court, how can you be so sure that a decade later, your father will not crown that half-breed as Crown Prince?!"

She knew that the king was a responsible man, and most of his time were spent governing the kingdom instead of being with his harem. Thus, for so many years, no matter how much affection a concubine had received, they could never threaten her title as the queen. But now, she was worried.

Although Aizen was raised to become the Crown Prince, and he was knowledgeable in both literature and skilful with weapons. He even had help fro him ministers when he helped to govern the country, hence, no big mistakes had risen so far. But as Aizen grew up, he began to show more and more weaknesses.

He was lustful and an alcoholic. But those weren't the biggest weaknesses. Her son was unable to distinguish true talent in his minister. Even if he could, he refuse to use them in court. Even if he did, he gave them a position that was unfit for them. When he had made them ministers, he refused to listen to their advices. All these had caused the king to be disappointed in him. But since he was the legitimate son, the king had yet to say anything.

Now, with the words about the Supreme Star, things might change…

"You stupid son!" she hollered in anger. "Have your tutor not taught you about histories where the king loves his younger son more, and changed the Crown Prince?"

Aizen remembered them clearly. How things had escalated into a war, and brothers raised their swords against each other. The bloodbath in which the one who lost died, and the one who survived was severely injured, dying a week after becoming the king.

He shuddered. "Then I will kill that woman now!" he turned around, heading for the door.

"Stop being so rash, Aizen!" Miwako called out. "If I can just kill her, will I still be standing here?"

He turned. "Then?"

Miwako turned to Yumi. "Summon Shion, the royal practitioner."

Half an hour later, Shion arrived. She was a young practitioner in her twenties. Blond hair, olive green eyes, and dressed in light green kimono with blue trimmings.

She knelt down before Miwako. "My queen, you summoned me?"

"You are the female medical practitioner here in the palace. Tell me, what field do you specialise in?"

"Pregnancy and child birth, my queen," she replied with respect. "I've delivered at least fifty babies so far."

Miwako's lips curled into a cold and cruel smile. "Then tell me, what is the probability of miscarriage, how many of them faces labour difficulties, and how many stillbirths?"

~_To be continued~_

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

**And now, we've reached the end of chapter one. I wonder how many of you are still here after the prologue. I know the prologue was quite short, and it didn't give much for you all to anticipate. So, hopefully after this chapter, you guys can become more interested? Or not? I don't know, it's all up to you guys. **

**So, what's Miwako asking that kind of question for? The answer may be quite obvious **

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Really hope to hear from you guys. Reviews and PM gives me the motivation to update faster. (Though regular updates will be on every Sunday)**

**Once again, thank you for reading. This is RuptureWolfBane, signing out~**


	3. Arc 1: Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate Stay Night or Legend of MiYue. This is just a fan's work, nothing more. I make no profit out of this. This is just for my interest in writing, and for those out there who would like to read this, nothing more.

SPOILERS ALERT: If you are planning to watch Legend of MiYue, then I need to warn you that this story contains heavy spoilers for that drama.

**Hi everyone, so we meet again. First off. Let me thank you all for taking some time out to read my little story. I'm really grateful for the hits on my story so far, and I hope to keep things up.**

**Here's to answer some questions. I won't be using all the characters from Fate Stay Night in this story, but I will choose those who are fit, and from different Fate stories as well. For example, from Fate Stay Night, Fate Zero like that. For the other series, I'm still thinking. For the main characters like Shirou and Archer, of course they will be here. Luvia will make her appearance soon as well. **

**Now, let's move on to the story. **

**Arc 1 Chapter 2**

"Then tell me, what is the probability of miscarriage, how many of them faces labour difficulties, and how many stillbirths?"

Shion looked up at the queen in disbelief. _Is the queen really asking me this kind of question? For what? Why so sudden? _An unknown cold crept up her spine, and she could feel herself shivering unconsciously.

"My queen?" she asked, lowering her head once more.

"Just answer the question, practitioner Shion," Miwako stated coldly. Her violet eyes staring intently at Shion, just to make sure the woman kneeling before her would not lie to her.

Shion gulped, feeling the queen's eyes on her. She swallowed, feeling choked by what she was about to say. "Miscarriage occurs two to three in ten, labour difficulties holds the same number, as well as death after birth. However… this is the palace. We have better medical practitioners and herbs... hence the probability…"

Miwako let out a short laugh. "That's enough information for me already, don't you think? Thus, even if Aoi's child is unable to come into this world, we have enough reasons to cover it up, no?"

Shion raised her head in disbelief, the fear clear on her face. When she had heard about the Supreme Star, she had feared that something like this would happen. She had hoped that none of the concubines would seek her out. But now, the queen herself had inquired about the matter, and stating her intentions so clearly.

"My queen, I'm a medical practitioner, not a murderer…" she began to say, but Miwako cut her off abruptly.

"Enough! You will make sure that this child never lives to see this world, or I will make sure that you suffer for the rest of your life!" she said harshly.

Shion trembled in fear. She knew she could never do something like that. Her knowledge was for saving people, not taking away innocent lives. But now, the queen was asking her to do just that. To go against the teachings of her master. She squeezed her eyes shut, and tried to hold in the tears.

"Remember this. I leave Aoi in your hands. If something goes wrong during her pregnancy, I won't condemn you. However… if she manages to give birth to that half-breed, do you know what will happen?"

Shion shook her head, not daring to answer.

"I heard that you have a son, a young boy, barely seven, no?" Miwako asked sweetly. "I'm lacking a page boy in my palace. Shall I summon him into the palace?"

"Please, no!" Shion screamed in despair. "Please don't force me to do this. I'm not a murderer… and please don't bring my son into this. He's just a child."

She knew what would happen to her son of the queen really wanted things to go her way. If her son was really summoned into the palace, he would be sent to the Hidden Palace to be castrated. He could never get married, and she would never have any grandchildren. He would be stuck in the palace walls forever, being just a eunuch. And maybe, even when he dies, nobody would even remember him.

She didn't want that to happen to her son, but, she couldn't commit a crime against her conscience as well. She knew it was cold-blooded murder, and Aoi was already six months along. If something went wrong, even Aoi might die.

Miwako faked a sad smile. "Too bad, my dear Shion. If you want to live, if you don't want your son to be castrated and be a servant in the palace for all his life, then you will do as I say."

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Aoi brought the bowl to her lips. The smell of the herbal medicine was different from usual. She looked at Shion, who had her head bowed low, a tray in both hands. She put the bowl down, and covered her mouth with a handkerchief.

"The medicine smells different today," she said to Shion. "It makes me feel uncomfortable."

Shion raised her head. "The queen has ordered to change the prescription. My lady, just drink it. It will do you no harm."

Aoi looked at the medicine again. Although Shion had given her an explanation, she still didn't feel like she wanted to drink it.

Her maid, Aunt Yuuka interjected. "Practitioner Shion, my lady has just finished her breakfast. Since the smell of this medicine is making her uncomfortable, why don't you just leave it here first? I'll serve the lady to drink it later."

Aoi nodded in agreement. In her heart, she was hoping that when Shion left, she could ask Yuuka to throw the medicine out.

But Shion quickly told her," My lady, timing is essential to the medicine. Its effect won't be as good once you leave it awhile!"

Yuuka looked at Aoi, who reluctantly took up the bowl once again, staring at the dark liquid. She raised the bowl to her lips, with Shion watching her every movement like a hawk.

"Wait!" came a voice. Kazuha came into the room.

"Paying respect to Lady Kazuha," said both Shion and Yuuka.

Kazuha turned to Shion, narrowing her eyes. "Is this medicine for Lady Aoi?"

"Indeed it is," Shion replied, averting Kazuha's eyes.

Kazuha smirked. "Do you know that Lady Aoi is carrying the Supreme Star of Hoseki? She is not to be neglected at all cost. Hence, how can it be secure if only one medical practitioner is in charge of her medicines?" she looked at Shion, who was looking everywhere but her. "I have just requested from the king, from now on, all her medicine will be prescribed by cooperation from all the royal doctors. The brewing will be overseen by Reiko, the Harem Groudskeeper."

"Yes, I understand," Shion said, bending her knees to pay respect to Kazuha. She used the close proximity to Aoi to knock the bowl from her hand, spilling the content and shattering the bowl.

"It's all spilled now," Yuuka said.

Kazuha stared at Shion. "It's fine. The royal doctors have prescribed new medicine. I'll have Reiko bring it here."

Shion left after another bow, and Kazuha turned to face Aoi.

"Sit down. You are pregnant, don't exert yourself too much," she said to Aoi warmly.

Aoi sat down carefully, and Kazuha seated herself opposite Aoi. Yuuka poured tea for both of them, then stood to a side.

"Yuuka, clean up the mess, but leave me a piece of that broken porcelain."

"For what?" Aoi asked.

Yuuka handed a piece of the porcelain to Kazuha, who took a sniff at it. A bitter smile formed on her lips, and she gave the porcelain back to Yuuka. "Throw it away… common Lophatherum," she smirked. "You broke the bowl, but the smell remains."

"Such a waste," Aoi remarked, referring to the medicine which was spilled earlier.

"Waste? Waste? Are you feeling bad that it didn't take away your child's life?" Kazuha said to her. "Lophatherum… it's sweet, but it is cold. So usually it is to lower the heat, especially during summer. But if a pregnant woman takes this herb, it will lead to miscarriage."

Aoi looked at the spilled medicine on the floor and the shattered bowl. "No…" her face was twisted into an expression of full terror. "Why me? Who would want to do this to me? Shion? Is it Shion? She was the one who brought the medicine in…"

"Hah…" Kazuha let out a short laugh. "Why would a royal female doctor do this? She knows that you are pregnant with the Supreme Star. If something is amiss, she is the one to be suspected on the spot. Why would she want to draw attention to herself?"

"Then…" Aoi looked at Kazuha. "Who can it be? I have low status in the harem, and I've never intentionally offended anyone. Why would someone want to harm me and my child?"

"You don't need to offend anyone. The existence of the Supreme Star itself is enough," Kazuha explained. "This person has total dominance. Who can give birth in this harem, it's all up to her. Which child can grow up into an adult after being born, it's all up to her as well," she let a bittersweet smile graced her lips. "Aren't you surprised why I know so much? Five years ago, when I was pregnant, she made me drink the same medicine too. That's why I lost my child. It was a boy… he would have been four years old now, if not for her…"

It finally dawned on her. "The queen?"

Kazuha nodded. "Who else holds such power here in the harem of Hoseki? But, things might change if you truly give birth to a prince. Your status would be higher than me. Perhaps… even higher than the queen herself. Why would she not feel threatened by this?"

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

It was near midnight when Shion slipped out from her room. She was dressed in her usual garments, but she stayed beneath the shadows of the trees as she moved across the courtyard. The full moon over her head casted its soft rays over the courtyard. At usual nights, she would have savoured the view, but tonight, the illumination served as a painful reminder of what she had tried to commit earlier that day.

She knew it was wrong, that she didn't learn medicine just to use that knowledge to kill someone, moreover if it was just an innocent unborn. She knew her knowledge and skills were for the good, but the queen had forced her to kill that child, just on the words of Kousuke that the unborn child is the Supreme Star.

"For words that might be a lie, the queen wishes to take the life of an innocent," she murmured to herself, a lone tear finding its way down her cheek. "Oh father, do tell me, what am I supposed to do now?"

The queen's order was absolute, that much she knew. But right now, there were too many people around Lady Aoi, and Lady Kazuha herself had taken the matter into her own hands. Medicine would be prescribed by all royal doctors, and to be brewed by Harem Groundskeeper. She had lost the chance of putting in 'extra ingredients' in Lady Aoi's medicine.

But she was relieved that Lady Kazuha had stopped her that afternoon. If not, she, a medical practitioner, would surely have taken life there and then, and her conscience could never bear the guilt.

"But… what about my son?" she wept. "If I don't do this, he would become a eunuch…"

She raised her head to the sky. "Tell me, heaven, what shall become of the poor child? What shall become of me and my son?"

She stared at the moon, wishing for an answer, and sat there the whole night.

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

~Three months later~

Shamans and shawomen danced a ceremonial dance outside the Imperial Lotus Room. Their hair was decorated with brightly coloured long feathers. Over their shoulders, wolf fur and fox fur were draped. Around their neck was a string of tiger tooth. Bracelets made of rhino horns were worn on their wrists and ankles.

Each of them were holding a long pole in their hand, with a spear tip at one end, also decorated with bright feathers. A low table was before them, with plates of fresh fruits and a barrel of wine. One of the shaman smashed the barrel with his bare fist, spilling the wine on the table, covering all the offerings in wine.

"Today's a day of luck!" the leading shawoman exclaimed, raising her pole high towards the sky. "Glory should be upon our king!"

All the shaman and shaowomen began to sing and dance. Their bare feet not feeling the heat of the hot ground at all. Their voices sounded eerie, even though it was a ceremonial dance to grace the birth of the supreme star.

Miwako watched all this with cold eyes. Although she was the one who requested for the dance in the first place, she had no intentions of blessing Aoi and the child. Her intentions were the complete opposite.

She spotted Kazuha heading towards her from a distance away, and immediately looked at Yumi, who nodded slightly and bowed.

"Lady Kazuha, please stop here," Yumi said to Kazuha, and stood in front of her to prevent Kazuha from taking another step forward.

"You servant, how dare you!" Kazuha stared at Yumi, would remained a neutral face. "Aoi is my dowry maid, and I deserve to be by her side during her labour!" She tried to push Yumi aside, but the servant would not budge.

"Forgive me for stopping you, but this is the order from the queen" she said. "During Lady Aoi's labour, only the queen and practitioner can be in the Imperial Lotus Room."

Kazuha pushed Yumi aside and walked up the stairs. "I don't give a damn!"

When Kazuha was about to pass her, Miwako said to her without turning. "It's the order of the king as well."

Kazuha stared at the queen intensely, as if trying to kill the woman with her eyes. She then huffed, and left the Imperial Lotus Room. Before she had gone far, the bloodcurdling cry of Aoi would be heard coming from inside. Her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately rushed towards the Grand Hall.

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Miwako entered the room, her eyes sweeping over the room, and landed on Aoi, who was screaming in pain. Sweat beaded her forehead, and her hands clutching the sheets so tightly they had turned white. Beside her, kneeling, was Shion. The female doctor was checking Aoi's pulse.

"Where's Lady Kazuha?" Aoi whispered through the pain.

"Please don't move," Shion said to her, ignoring her question. She knew the queen was watching, and she dared not make any unnecessary moves or utter any unnecessary words.

"How is she?" Miwako asked, her voice flat.

Shion turned to the queen and bowed. "Her pulse has just quickened, she's almost due."

"Come," Miwako said, and turned to leave the room. Shion immediately followed. "Do you still remember the probabilities you told me before? About miscarriage, difficulty in labour and stillbirth? I've given you the prefect chance. Now do it!"

Shion's face remained neutral after hearing what the queen had said. She merely returned to tend to Lady Aoi.

_What should I do?_

Outside, a eunuch announced the arrival of the king, who was accompanied by Kazuha. Miwako immediately rushed out and told her servants to bar the door behind her. She then immediately knelt down before the king came in.

"What's become of Aoi?" the king asked worriedly.

But Miwako didn't answer him. Instead, she said, "My king, a child birth is a bloody scene, your noble presence…"

Tokiomi stopped her from continuing with the nonsense. "Just tell me! I have no time to listen to you beating around the bush!"

"The practitioner said that there's some complications," Miwako replied, faking a worried face. "We are fearing the worst…"

Tokiomi clenched his fists in anger. "What's the use of our royal doctors and female practitioners? A bunch of useless fools!" he roared. "If something happens to the child or Aoi, I will kill of them!"

At the exact same moment, the cry of a baby was heard from the room. Miwako's face turned pale as she turned her head, not wanting to believe her ears.

_No, no! That half-breed cannot be born! What is that Shion doing?! Useless piece of chess!_

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Shion tried to calm herself down after the queen has left the room. She looked at Aoi, lying before her, going through the pain of childbirth. For three months, she carried with her medicinal powder that can cause miscarriage, waiting for the chance to put the wretched drug into Aoi's food or drink. But whenever chance presented itself, she found herself unable to do so.

She knew that as a medical practitioner, her job was to save lives. She studied medicine from her father ever since she was young, and he always told her that only a true and pure heart can heal another's illness. Because the one who truly healed the patients was god. They served as the medium for the gods to channel their power. She never doubted his words.

So for three months, she kept watch as Aoi ate, as she walked, as she slept. She prayed for Aoi every single second she was awake. She didn't dare to really drug Aoi. At the same time she hoped that whatever the queen wished for could be done without dirtying her hands, but at the same time, she hoped for her and her son's eternal safety.

Until the exact moment Aoi had given birth, she held her breath. If Aoi truly gave birth to the child, she had no choice but to suffocate the child to death. There would be no evidence, no one to suspect her at all. She trembled in fear, she prayed towards the heavens.

Aoi's agonized screams haunted her, making her ears ring, and she tried to drown it all out. Her heart was equally painful with the knowledge that she was about to rob an innocent life away. The final moment was upon her, and no matter what she chose, she knew she would be engulfed in guilt for the rest of her life.

But, when she removed the baby from Aoi's body, she cried.

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

The door opened slowly, and Shion emerged, holding a bundle in her arms. Crying could be heard coming from the bundle, and she stepped forwards slowly. Her expression was weird, as if she had been released from something tormenting, and at the same time, it bore an unbelievable expression.

But, the queen's eyes were not on her. She was looking at the bundle in her arms. If fire could be spurt from her eyes, then the flames of anger in her eyes was enough to burn the child and Shion to death a thousand times. If it were arrows, their bodies would've been full of holes by then.

_No, no, no! _She screamed and cursed in her heart.

Tokiomi unconsciously took a step forward, arms reaching for the bundle. "Come, bring the child to me."

Shion knelt down before the king, raising the bundle up. "Congratulations, my king. It's a princess!"

_~To be continued~_

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

**Hi guys, we meet again. So our Miwako can finally relax since the Supreme Star is not a boy, eh? Who've thought? That must've given Tokiomi quite the shock, didn't it? Poor guy. Hmm, nothing else to say except that I just finish my finals yesterday, marking the end of freshman year in university for me. **

**Til next time. This is RuptureWolfBane, signing out~**


	4. Arc 1 Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate Stay Night or Legend of MiYue. This is just a fan's work, nothing more. I make no profit out of this. This is just for my interest in writing, and for those out there who would like to read this, nothing more.

SPOILERS ALERT: If you are planning to watch Legend of MiYue, then I need to warn you that this story contains heavy spoilers for that drama.

**Hi guys, so we meet again. This time, it's on a Saturday night. So yeah, from now til further notice, weekly updates will be done on Saturday night instead of Sunday mornings. Well, I have stuffs on Sunday morning, so yeah **

**Anyways, I have another reminder for you all. For Aizen, who is Miwako's son, Aizen will be his title, while Shinji will be his name. Just realized that he fits the character so well in the later stages. **

**Arc 1 Chapter 3**

"Congratulations, my king. It's a princess!"

Tokiomi stared at Shion as if the female had suddenly grown a third eye, or perhaps horns had grown out from her head? He took another step forward, his sapphire blue eyes watching the new born, who was still crying.

"What did you just say?" he growled in a low voice.

Shion nearly dropped the baby in fear. "My king, Lady Aoi has given birth to a princess!"

"Prince. Or princess? State it clearly! Don't stammer, or I'll have your tongue pulled out!" he thundered.

"A daughter, my king. No doubt about it."

He turned his gaze to the women standing around him. His queen, Miwako, and his favourite concubine, Kazuha. He could almost see the mocking expression on their faces, laughing at him. Laughing at his stupidity for trusting that wretched Kousuke and his words. Believing the fact that the Supreme Star would truly be born in his harem, and that his dream to conquer the world could finally come true.

Tokiomi turned to Shion once more, and stared at the bundle still in her arm. He pulled the cloth away from the baby's body and stared at it. Sure enough, it was a baby girl. All his hopes shattered, all his vision, his everything came crushing down in that very moment. He had planned everything the moment he had heard of the news.

Tokiomi would've crowned the new born as the new Crown Prince, and banish his useless eldest son to the border. He would have balked against the idea of getting a tutor and teach the child everything he has to know on how to govern the country. He would give everything he had to make sure the child could achieve his true potential.

But now, laying in that bundle was a girl.

"Supreme Star?" he said in a deadly low voice. "This is the Supreme Star Kousuke had predicted three months ago?"

How could a girl become a conqueror? Become a leader of the world? How could a woman lead an army onto a battlefield? How could a woman come up with political policies? How could a woman gain the trust of her courtiers and ministers?

He was angry at how he was played. He could feel the anger boiling inside of him, looking for the chance to get out and hurt someone, something, whatever it was. But the baby opened her eyes, and aqua blue eyes stared right back at him.

For a moment, he savoured it. She looked so much like him. Her hair, her eyes. Then it hit him all over again. The fact that the baby was a girl and not a boy. How the child looked so much like him, but could never be him. It only made him angrier.

"Enough!" he roared in anger, sweeping the child from Shion's arms.

Kazuha bolted forward and caught the baby in her arms, who was crying even louder than before, her tiny fists clenched. She dared not look at the king.

"Absurdity!" he said, and turned. "And get that woman from here immediately!"

Kazuha stared at the child in her arms, silent tears washing down her cheeks. Her hopes had been shattered as well. _Oh why, why why? Why do you have to be a girl? Aren't you the Supreme Star?_

Miwako left out a long maniacal laugh. At last, her pounding heart could relax. Her worst nightmare, remain as a dream, and not a reality. She care not for how Shion had accomplish the feat. As long as her son was still the Crown Prince, she could care less about what others would do.

"So, this is the Supreme Star? She's just another ordinary baby, don't you think, Kazuha?"

"This is your doing!" Kazuha screamed at Shion. "What benefits have you taken from the queen for you to do such a disgusting thing?!"

Shion remained silent, just accepting the scolding from Kazuha. Miwako on the other hand, had lost interest in the child and left the Imperial Lotus Room.

Before she stepped out from the room, she turned to Kazuha. "You thought you could topple me with a mere child? How pathetic have you become?"

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Tokiomi, Miwako and Kousuke were all in the Imperial Study Room, the minister kneeling before the king and queen, his face pale as he watched the veins throbbed on the king's forehead. But Tokiomi remained silent as he paced the room, a goblet of wine in his hand. Miwako stood to one side, not saying anything as well as women were not allowed to discuss on matters of the kingdom.

Suddenly, Tokiomi threw the goblet in front of Kousuke, which shattered when it came into contact with the floor, spilling the wine on the floor and some of it splashed onto Kousuke's robes. He didn't dare to flinch, and remained as still as a rock.

"You have guts, Kousuke," the king thundered, his voice low, but laced with hidden rage. He turned to the kneeling man. "You told me that a Supreme Star will be born in my harem, but this child, is a girl, not a boy!"

"My king," Kousuke began in a trembling voice. "I merely told you what the stars are showing to me. The stars foretold the birth of the Supreme Star, but it didn't say whether it would be a girl or a boy. This is not my fault, my king."

Tokiomi narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to say that the Supreme Star is actually a female? Such words are absurd, and I refuse to accept them!"

"My king, the Yin and the Yang always exist in harmony. But now, they are not in equilibrium. The aura of death is heavy. If the Supreme Star is a boy, then he will bring great luck to the kingdom and its future. But if it's a girl… then, it can't be told whether it is a good thing, or a catastrophe."

Miwako, who had remained silent all this time, could no longer stay silent. Since the child was a part of the harem, and she was in charge of keeping peace and harmony in the harem, she felt that she could actually voice her opinion in the matter.

She walked over to the king, and tugged at his sleeve slightly. "My king, if what he says is true, then this child may bring ill luck to you and the kingdom. You must not let the child live. For the sake of the kingdom, my king."

But Kousuke was against the idea. "My king, the stars have spoken. We cannot go against the fate which the heaven has bestowed on us. If we try to force our way through this, even more ill luck will befall on the kingdom. I beg you to think about this, my king." He pressed his forehead to the floor, trying to show the king that he was telling the truth.

Miwako seized the chance to whisper to Tokiomi, who was still torn between the words of his queen and his minister.

"My king, Kousuke takes you as a fool. Words about the Supreme Star has helped him to be showered with heaps of wealth from you. All the ministers and courtiers are the same. They don't really wish to help you run the kingdom. All they _want, _is the endless wealth that they would receive."

Tokiomi was enraged when he heard those words. He glared at Kousuke. "Kousuke, you dare to lie to the king! I entrusted you to watch the stars for me, but what have your eyes seen? What I want you to do is to tell me what the heavens are showing us, but you're telling me that you can't even distinguish luck and disaster? What is the use of your eyes then?! Guards!"

Two guards immediately rushed into the room, their armours clattering. "Your orders, my king?" they asked in unison.

Tokiomi pointed at Kousuke, who had raised his head up. His eyes looking at the guards in fear. Sweat beaded on his forehead, but he dared not make a voice.

"Gouge this scoundrel's eyes out, and banish him to the border!" he ordered, turning away, not wanting to see Kousuke anymore. "He shall never return to the Imperial Capital anymore!"

"My king!" Kousuke screamed when the guards seized him by the arms, and pulled him to his feet. They then proceeded to pulling him out from the room. "My king, the heavens have revealed their intentions, you can't go against it. If you do, then Hoseki is sure to walk the path of destruction! My king! My king!"

He continued to holler as he was being pulled away by the guards, but Tokiomi no longer pa any heed to him. Miwako watched her husband worriedly, but Tokiomi was wearing a blank expression.

"My king, what do you think we should do about that half-breed?"

He sighed, shaking his head, not wanting to accept the truth. "Could it be, that the heaven's intentions are not to be violated?"

Miwako had a sudden idea. She hid her smile, and bowed a bit. "My king, if it's really decided by the heavens and fate, then why don't we leave the child to the hands of fate itself?"

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

When the king gave out the order to move Aoi out from the Imperial Lotus Room, Kazuha had immediately brought the woman and child back to her own palace, which was the Dream of Clouds. She knew that once the guards come, they would be merciless to both the mother and the new-born. Even though her hopes had been shattered, Aoi was still her dowry maid, and she had the responsibilities of taking care of her.

Aoi lay on the bed, her daughter sleeping peacefully beside her, wrapped in warm blankets. A soft smile graved her lips as she gently caressed the child's cheek. Yuuka was keeping watch over the mother and child. Kazuha was seated at the table, lost in thought.

"Lady Kazuha, I thank you for your generous hospitality," Aoi said, her voice still weak.

Kazuha blinked, as if just waking up from a trance. She turned to Aoi and managed a smile. "There is no need to be so formal around me. Although you are my dowry maid, I look at you as my sister. You should know that by now."

"I do, and I couldn't thank you enough for it."

"Aoi… I know this might make the king sound like a complete jerk," she began, looking in Aoi's way. "But ever since he found out that your child is a daughter, he was furious with the fact that Kousuke had lied to him, and barely set his eyes on the child. Perhaps, it might be best if you name her yourself. The king might never pay any heed to this child…"

Aoi nodded sadly, looking at her child. She looked so much like the king, and her as well. To her, she was the perfect child. A child of her own flesh and bone. How could she not love the child? She knew that her child was not a boy, and the king was disappointed with it. He had such high hopes for her unborn child, and that was why he seemed so broken when she delivered the child. A tear rolled down her cheek, but she smiled.

"Rin then. My daughter will be called Rin from now onwards."

Kazuha nodded in full agreement. "That's a beautiful name for this beautiful child."

At that moment, Yumi and two other maid servants came into the room. Kazuha and Yuuka immediately stood up. The three of them were servants of the queen, and had never bore any good intentions towards any of them. Their suspicions came true when they saw Yuki glaring at Rin, then sneered.

"Orders from the queen," she began, he voice arrogant. 'This child is auspicious. And since her birth was decided by heavens and fate, then her future will be decided by them as well. Will she die, or will she live, we shall leave it to fate," she turned to the other two servants. "Bring the half-breed along."

Kazuha stood up. "What are you doing? The child is a princess. You can't just take her away like that."

"Princess?" Yumi smirked. "Pardon me, my lady. But this child is no princess. Has the king given her a title? No. therefore she is no princess. She is just another half-breed who happens to have the chance of being born in the palace. She has enough luck already." She looked at Rin again. "What are you two doing?! Get her!"

This time, they came forward and took the child away from Aoi. Both Aoi and Yuuka tried to stop them, but failed. Aoi slumped to the floor as she was still drained from labour.

"My child! I beg of you, please don't take my child away from me. My child! Please give her back to me!"

Yuuka was stuck between caring for Aoi and going after the princess. She fell to her knees, watching the child being brought away and Aoi's tears. The two servants disappeared behind the door, leaving only Yumi in the room.

"Give me back my child!" she howled in anguish, her hoarse scream felt like a knife to those who heard it.

But Yumi was not even fazzled. "This is not just orders of the queen. The king himself has agreed to this plan. Now, please pardon me." She bowed, and turned to leave the room.

"Give me back my child! Give me back my child! My child! My child!" Aoi screamed, and got up to her feet, staggering after Yumi. "My child! Give me back my child!"

Yuuka got up to her feet, and turned to Kazuha, who had stood up as well. "My lady, what should we do?"

But Kazuha remained calm as she dusted herself. "Aoi gave birth to a girl, not a boy. Even if she loses her child, what difference does it make? The child may just grow up to be a dowry maid to her other sisters, just like Aoi…"

"But Lady Kazuha… no matter what, that child is still Lady Aoi's daughter."

"You think that I don't know about that?" Kazuha said with a glare. "Do you think I'm not heartbroken over this? She's just an innocent child, but they still want to take her life. She is not even the Supreme Star, so why are they doing this?"

"My child! Give me back my child!"

They could still hear the scream of the anguish mother, but the voice became lower and lower as Aoi became further and further away from them, running after those who had taken her child away from her.

"Yuuka, make sure Aoi is safe. But follow her from a distance. Don't startle her," Kazuha told Yuuka.

The servant nodded, and immediately went after Aoi. It wasn't difficult for Yuuka to do so. She only had to follow Aoi's voice. Every time she heard it, her heart felt like it was being cut up by a knife.

The scream of a mother, who was protective of her child. Even though her body was still weak from childbirth. On her mind, the most important thing was no longer herself. It was her child. She may no longer have the king's affection, but that wasn't important. All she cared in that moment was whether her child was safe or not.

Yuuka followed Aoi to the Imperial Gardens. The garden was lit by lanterns at night as the king loved to take night strolls in the garden. And thanks to that, it was easier for her to locate Aoi. She saw Aoi heading towards the Stone Monument, and immediately rushed forward.

The Stone Monument was beautiful in sight, but if one ventured into its depth without knowing their way, they might get lost in it, or fall to their deaths. It was named as a monument, but is was more like a jungle of stones with different shapes and sizes. Many of them had ferns and mosses growing on them, making the surface slippery. Moreover, a stream ran through the place as well, and it ended with a small waterfall where the water ran into a deep pond with lotus flowers.

"Lady Aoi, please be safe…"

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

In the meantime, Yumi brought the child she had taken from Aoi and brought her to the river. The two maid servants who were following her brought a bamboo basket with them. Putting down the basket at the bank of the river, Yumi lowered the baby into the basket.

"My child, even when you become a ghost, don't blame your death on me. You can only blame it on your fate in reincarnation…" she told the child, and placed the basket onto the river. The basket floated and moved along with the current. Yumi watched the basket float out of her sight, and turned to leave as well.

The change in her surroundings from warm to cold, and dry to wet caused Rin to start crying again, her cries only slightly louder than the sound of the river current itself. The basket had a small leak in it, and water began to flow into the basket, making it heavier and heavier.

By this time, the hysterical mother had reached the river, her eyes darting through the darkness in search for her child. She had heard the cries of her child, and was following it by running along the river. In her haste, she tripped and fell a few times, scraping her palms on the sharp rocks, drawing blood and turning her pristine satin sleeves red. Her knees were bruised from the fall, but not scraped as there were garments covering them.

"My child, give me back my child!" she howled in anguish, the tears never stopping. She turned, her sleeves whipping around the air. "My child, where is my child?! Give me back my child!"

Behind her, Yuuka's voice could be heard. "Lady Aoi! Lady Aoi!"

"My child! Give her back!" Aoi came to a clearing, which was right beneath the waterfall. She fell to her knees from exhaustion and cried. "My child! Why?! Why do you have to take her away from me?! What have we ever done to you?!"

Yuuka caught up with her, and helped her up. "Lady Aoi, please take care of your own health as well."

"My child…" she murmured, and became speechless when she saw a basket protruding between the duckweeds. The basket was overturned, and obviously empty. "My child! NOOOOOOOO!"

"Lady, please calm down," Yuuka begged. "You shouldn't bother."

"Let me go! Let me go! Let me get my child!"

"Please, my lady…"

"Let her go!" came the king's stern voice. Kazuha was with him, and so was the queen, who was having a bored expression on her face.

Kazuha looked to the top of the waterfall, straining her ears. "Listen!"

And there was the sound. The faint crying of a child. Miwako's expression turned sour. She glared at Yumi, who kept her head low. She had expected the child to die, but she was still alive. They all directed their gaze to the top of the waterfall, where the statue of Shao Si Ming stood.

"My child!" Aoi let out a happy cry, and ran towards the top of the waterfall. She found the child lying on a lotus leaf just near to the dropping edge, but she was protected by the lotus and other aquatics weeds that grew abundantly there. She cradled the child in her arms, and caressed Rin's cheek with love.

"Look, Shao Si Ming had revealed herself and protected the princess!" Kazuha exclaimed, and everyone knelt down in respect.

"This child sure is lucky," the king said softly. "Whether she is the Supreme Star or not, she is blessed by the gods. Since the moon is shining so radiantly tonight, the princess' title shall be Princess Tsuki."

_~To be continued~_

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

**Hi guys, you have to see me again. Just a little spoiler for the next chapter. We get to see little Rin in action. I don't know how far we get to see Rin in her childhood, but I can guarantee that we get to see more of her starting the next chapter. Bye for now~**


	5. Arc 1: Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate Stay Night or Legend of MiYue. This is just a fan's work, nothing more. I make no profit out of this. This is just for my interest in writing, and for those out there who would like to read this, nothing more.

SPOILERS ALERT: If you are planning to watch Legend of MiYue, then I need to warn you that this story contains heavy spoilers for that drama.

**Hi guys, welcomed back to my little story. So, as promised, we'll get to see little Rin in action starting from this chapter. **

**Please enjoy the chapter, and drop a review or pm me to let me know how it was. **

**Arc 1 Chapter 4**

_~FOUR YEARS LATER~_

Tohsaka Rin, otherwise known as Princess Tsuki, was now a four year old child. On this particular day, she was playing with her wooden horse when she saw her mother standing in the doorway, watching something with a faraway expression on her face. In one hand, she held a beautiful red pendant, which she clutched close to her bosom.

"Mother, what are you looking at?" she asked, putting down her toy.

"The South Hall…" her mother replied.

Rin cocked her head to one side. "What's in the South Hall?" she asked again with childish curiosity.

"Your father, the king," her mother replied, absent minded.

Rin came over to the doorway, and looked in the direction her mother was looking. As she was just a child, and she was too short, all she saw were more buildings with their red architecture. She couldn't figure out which one was the South Hall her mother had told her.

Then her mother left the door, and went back to her needle work. Rin looked at her mother, and sneaked out from the door. She began walking around the palace, taking everything in, admiring every nook and crony. Though she was the princess, it was the first time she had come out as her mother dislike leaving Lady Kazuha's palace.

She passed the Imperial Archives, then the Imperial Archway. Everywhere she looked, she felt that everything was so beautiful and magnificent. Almost everything had a shade of red to them, giving everything a festive feel to them.

Finally, she reached the South Hall, where she saw guards in their red armours standing on the stairs leading to the hall. Feeling not even a single hint of fear in her, Rin walked up to the door, but was promptly stopped by a guard.

"Hey, you can't just go in there!" the guard said harshly. "Who are you anyway?"

"Let me go! Let me go!" she yelled, and struggled against his hold.

The guard did not let go. "You can't go in there! Go back home."

"I can go back by myself!" she continued yelling. "Now let me go!"

The guard believed her, and let her go. Rin turned, making sure that the guard thought that she would leave. Sure enough, the guard went back to stand at his post. When his back was to her, she quickly took the chance and ran up the stairs, pushing the doors open to the South Hall. She could hear the guard running behind her, and yelling at her to stop, but she ignored him. Inside, two more guards and the king's personal eunuch came to stop her.

"You can't just walk in here. The king is busy with governing the country," the eunuch hissed in rage. "And just who are you anyway?"

"Let me go! Let me go!" Rin yelled again, bawling her fists at them. "You can't just stop me!"

Inside the study room, the king heard the commotion outside, and summoned his personal eunuch. "Who's out there, making such a ruckus?"

The eunuch bowed apologetically. "It's a child, my king. I'm sorry for letting her get into the hall. I will get her out of her now."

"There's no need," the king said with a smile. "I want to see who is so brave to intrude my royal studies."

The eunuch bowed once more, and left the room.

Soon, Rin came into the room, stomping her feet. Her father, Tokiomi put down the scroll he was reading and paid full attention to her. In his eyes, she was just another of his princesses, with sapphire blue eyes and auburn hair.

"Who are you?" she asked in a haughty voice.

Tokiomi resisted the urge to laugh. "Try to guess," he said, amused at how things was going.

"You're the king," she replied without hesitation.

Tokiomi raised an eyebrow. Since she knew who he was, why did she ask? "Then, who are you then?"

"You guess too," Rin replied.

Her father smiled, putting both hands on the table. "You must be my princess. But which princess are you?"

Rin puffed up one cheek. "You know who I am. Don't play dumb. "

"Oh? But I don't. I have more than 10 princesses," he replied.

Rin stomped her feet, huffed, and turned to leave the room without giving an answer. Tokiomi watched her leave, amused by the child. He chuckled as he picked up the scroll he was reading previously.

"Such a high spirited child," he said to himself with a chuckle, and read the scroll in his hand. But he looked up after a short while when he felt that someone was looking at him.

He saw his daughter peeking her head out from behind the curtains at the doorway. When she saw him looking at her, she quickly went back into hiding, and the king went back to his readings. Soon, Rin peeked her head out from her hiding, and stomped back to stand in front of the king's table.

"My name is Rin, and my title is Princess Tsuki," she said in a high voice. "This name was given by you, and yet you say you don't know me?"

"Ah!" he exclaimed in realization. "Tsuki. Yes, I do know you. You are my little Supreme Star, no? I never thought that you've grown so big already."

Rin crossed her chubby arms. "I never thought of it as well."

"Thought of what?" the king asked.

"I originally thought that you are a lion. But you're a human," she said with a straight face.

Tokiomi furrowed his brows. "But I am the king. How can I be a lion?"

"A lion is the king of the jungle. You are a king too, aren't you?"

Tokiomi smiled, amused by her playful antic. But her next words took him by real surprise.

"Stand up," she ordered, and pointed at him.

"What?" he asked, perplexed.

"Stand up," she whined this time, and went to his sided, tugging at his sleeve.

"Alright, alright, stop tugging at my sleeve," the king said, standing up.

Rin let a mischievous smirk grace her lips. She reached out one hand, and smacked her father on the buttocks. The king's eyes widened in surprise, and he looked at his daughter, who was still happily smacking away at his buttocks. She was laughing now, and looking at up at him. Tokiomi looked at her expression and laughed as well.

"Mother said that you can't touch a lion's bum," she said, and gave him a final smack.

"Oh? Is that so?" he said with a laugh, and carried her in his arms. He pointed to his own forehead with one hand while carrying her in his other arm. "Touch here, and we'll see whether a lion's forehead can be touched or not."

Rin laughed and touched his forehead. "I can touch a lion's forehead," she said happily, then reached for her father's goatee. "A lion's whiskers can be touched as well."

Tokiomi laughed, and kissed Rin on the cheeks. Rin put her small arms around his neck, and nuzzled close.

"Father, will you go and see my mother?"

He blinked, and thought for a moment. But he couldn't remember who her mother was. "You mother?"

"She's Lady Aoi."

"Ah, yes, she is," Tokiomi concurred. "But Rin, I promised to have dinner with the queen tonight."

Rin immediately deflated, and released her arms from around his neck, and pouted. "But father, you haven't gone to see mother in years."

"I know, Rin. But…"

"Father, mother misses you a lot," she misses you every single day," she said, tears forming in her eyes.

Tokiomi sighed. "And how would you know that?"

"Because she stands in the doorway every single day, looking at this South Hall, but she never spoke."

He thought about the matter for a while, and broke into a loving smile. "Very well then. Rin, go back to your mother, and tell her that I will go to her place tonight."

Rin brightened up immediately, and hugged him once more. "Okay, don't break your promise, alright?"

Tokiomi only laughed as a response, and put the child down, rubbing her on the head. "Alright, I have matters to attend to now. Run off and play, alright?"

She nodded, and turned to run from the room, but Tokiomi held her arm. "Wait, Rin. I will tell you a secret nobody else knows. Behind this hall, there is a back door. Next time when you come here, just come in from there. No one will stop you anymore."

Rin smiled, and hugged her father tightly once again before leaving the room from the back door. Tokiomi watched her leave, amused by what he had encountered today.

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Later that night, Aoi sat at her table, knitting. She was lost in thoughts of the king once more. When she was ordered to come to Hoseki as Kazuha's dowry maid, she knew that perhaps in this life, she would never know what happiness truly is. Her husband was the king, and his nights didn't belong to just her. He belonged to the queen, concubines and all the other dowry maids.

Whoever got the most affection would become the next target to be eliminated by the women in the harem, and she knew that. That was the reason why four year ago, when she gave birth to a daughter and enraged the king, she never tried to regain his affection. She wanted a safe, although lonely future for both her and her child.

"My lady, the king is here," her maid servant reported with a bow.

That shocked her, and she dropped the knitting in her hands. "Impossible. The king would never come here. He hasn't come here for the past four years now."

The person who came into the door in the next moment startled her. She put a hand over her mouth, and stood up, trembling. "My king…"

Tokiomi stood there, just like how she had remembered him. His sapphire blue eyes, his auburn hair, his gentle smile. He offered her his hand, and she took it timidly, not daring to look at him in the eyes.

"Please forgive me, my king. For I am before you in such a dishevelled state."

He raised an eyebrow. "Did Rin not tell you that I would come here tonight?"

"But she's just a child, and they lie at times…"

He laughed. "But I am the king. And a king does not lie," he said to her lovingly. "I'm sorry for leaving you all alone for all these years. It was my fault."

Aoi leaned against him, savouring the lost warmth. "It's alright. As long as you remember me, and I still have a small spot in your heart."

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Tohsaka Sakura sat at the dining table, with her head resting on both arms. She stared at the dishes in front of her, and felt her stomach rumbling once more. Her mother had told her that the king would dine with them tonight, so she had obediently waited for her father before digging in. But the king had yet to show himself, and he was never late for dinner. She turned her gaze to her mother, who was standing at the door, looking outside.

Even at three years old, she knew what her mother was waiting for whenever she stood at the door. This was the harem, and all the women in it were hoping that the king would stay at their place every night. But at the same time, all of them knew it was impossible. Their husband was the king, and they could never have him for themselves. Their husband was meant to be shared, not to be owned.

"Mother?" Sakura called out, unable to bear the hunger anymore. "I'm hungry, can we eat first?"

Miwako turned to her daughter, and smiled. "Just a moment, Sakura. Your father should be here any moment now. He promised to have dinner with us tonight, remember?"

She pouted. "But my tummy's rumbling already. Is father not coming here tonight? He's never late."

"Nonsense," her mother reprimanded her. "Of course he would come. He's the king, and he adores you the most."

"Alright, I'll wait then…"

Yumi came into the room, and bowed to the queen. "My queen, there's no need to wait anymore. The king has gone to Lady Aoi's place."

"Aoi?" Miwako echoed. "Which Aoi?"

Yumi whispered in her ear. "Aoi of the Supreme Star."

"What? What has gone into the king's mind? For four years, he has never been to Kazuha's palace. And now, the first time in such a long time, he went to see the dowry maid? Witchcraft!" Miwako roared in rage.

"Mother?"

"Nothing, Sakura. Go ahead and eat first," she said to Sakura. She lowered her voice, and turned to Yumi. "This woman is dangerous. She's kept all her abilities hidden all these years, I thought that she would no longer pose a threat as her child is a daughter. But if she somehow regains the king's affection, having a son is a matter of sooner or later. Before something like that happens, we must get rid of her."

Yumi nodded. "I will have someone to watch her."

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Tokiomi sat in his study, going through some scrolls about the kingdom. Every once in a while, he would frown and pick up another scroll, or stroke his goatee. It wasn't an easy job running the kingdom, but so far, he would like to think that he had done quite a good job.

In fact, through the wars over the years, he had increased the kingdom's area to be on par with Kin, and became the strongest kingdom of all. The neighbouring kingdom, reigned by the young King Gilgamesh, has slacked off for some time, but he heard that Gilgamesh had done much reformation in his country, and increased the capability of his armies. According to his spies, it was only a matter of time before Gilgamesh would attack all the other kingdom.

He knew that Gilgamesh would never allow any other kingdoms to be better than his, and now, his Hoseki was on par with Kin. Hence, Hoseki would be the first target when Kin decided to make its move. He needed to come up with a solution, and quick.

"Father!" Rin exclaimed, bouncing into the room and into his arms.

Tokiomi laughed, happy to have his favourite princess by his side. "So how has my little tiger been?"

As an answer, she kissed him on the cheek, making him laugh. She then plopped down onto his lap, and pulled his strong arms around her torso.

"Are you here to ask me to go and see your mother?" he asked.

Rin shook her head. "Mother said it isn't good for you to go and see her all the time."

"And why not?" he asked, already knowing the answer. After all, this was the harem, and he knew how jealous women can get in the harem just because another concubine had gotten more affection from him.

"Mother said that someone would be unhappy."

"It doesn't matter what other people think about it. As long as your mother and you are happy, then it's enough," he assured the child. "Rin, as long as I'm here, I'll make sure that no one would ever bully you or your mother.

Rin nodded, happy with the answer. She stared at the plate of snack on the table, and licked her lips. "Father, are these nice?"

Tokiomi blinked. "I don't know. These are new from the Imperial Kitchen. Why don't you try them first and tell me how it taste?"

Rin puffed out her cheeks. "But mother told me not to eat other people's stuff."

"Oh? Your mother is strict about your upbringing," Tokiomi remarked.

Rin remained silent for a few seconds, pouting. Then she brightened up, and a mischievous smile crept onto her face. "Mother said not to eat stuff from other people. But you are not other people. You are my father, aren't you?"

He laughed. "Indeed. You have quite a reason there, don't you? Eat up then."

"Okay!" she said happily, reaching out for a cookie, munching on it happily. "Nice."

Tokiomi stroked her hair, smiling gently.

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Later that day, a eunuch came into the study to light the oil lamps as the day was turning dark. When he entered the room, the king was still reading his scrolls, and once in a while, he would pick up his brush and write something on another scroll. The eunuch lit the lamp which was on the king's table, and notice Rin, who had fallen asleep.

"My king," he said in a low voice. "The princess has fallen asleep. Should I bring her back to her palace?"

Tokiomi put a finger to his lips, and put down the scroll he was looking at. Standing up, he stretched a bit before bending down to carry Rin. The child murmured something in her sleep, but didn't wake up when Tokiomi picked her up. Automatically, she leaned her head against his shoulder and wrapped her hands around his neck, as if knowing that her father was carrying her.

"I'm tired," Tokiomi told the eunuch. "I shall retire now."

"Where to, my king?" he asked.

"Where else? To her mother's place of course," the king replied.

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Yuuka closed the door behind her, and knelt down before Kazuha. "My lady, the king is going to rest at Lady Aoi's place tonight," she said, pouring a cup of tea for her mistress. "My lady, you should rest early tonight as well."

Kazuha sighed. "This is my life, and my fate. Look at my dowry maid, she has all the glory a woman could ever hope for now. This is why I said that a woman in a harem needs to have a child. Even if the kings has no feelings towards you, as long as you have a child, the king would consider about the child as well."

"But the king has not come to our palace in years. Why so frequently now?"

"The king did not remember this palace anymore. This place might as well be like the Cold Palace already all these years," Kazuha replied, smiling bitterly. "It's Rin, the Supreme Star, who changed their fate."

"But I thought the Supreme Star must be a boy?"

Kazuha shook her head. "I did ask Kousuke before. Not necessarily. Just that, we do not know whether Rin would be luck, or would she be a catastrophe. From what I can see now, she's a good luck charm. Perhaps … I can use her, to topple the queen and get my revenge."

_~To be continued~_

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

**So, we are done with this chapter too. Now, I know many of you might say that the characters are OOC. But remember, this is a different world that we are talking about, and there's no magic involved here at all. Besides that, this story takes place mostly in the harem, so how they interact with each other will differ from Fate Stay Night and its series too. **


	6. Arc 1: Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate Stay Night or Legend of MiYue. This is just a fan's work, nothing more. I make no profit out of this. This is just for my interest in writing, and for those out there who would like to read this, nothing more.

SPOILERS ALERT: If you are planning to watch Legend of MiYue, then I need to warn you that this story contains heavy spoilers for that drama.

**Hi guys, welcomed back to my little story. In this chapter, we get to see more of Rin, and a little bit of Sakura too. Please enjoy the chapter, and drop a review or pm me to let me know how it was. **

**Arc 1 Chapter 5 **

It was morning, and King Tokiomi was in court, discussing matters with his ministers and courtiers. On that particular day, they were discussing about the war which was about to erupt, as well as their growing power. Among all the six kingdoms, Kin had always been in the lead of military power. But with the recent death of the king of Kin, the kingdom was now governed by a mere sixteen year old King Gilgamesh.

Though the young king was already known as the king of Kin since his birth, since he was half god and half human, Gilgamesh only became the king in both power and name after the death of his father. Since he was still young, he still had a lot to learn, but his charisma was enough to win over his court and subjects.

Thus, Tokiomi knew that he would need to find a way to deal with the problem first. However, there were other kingdoms' monarchs meeting up in private to discuss about attacking Hoseki, and he couldn't just ignore the matter.

"My king, three kingdoms have already come together, and they have decided to attack Hoseki in half a year's time," Kotomine Kirei said. "We need to take precaution if more kingdoms decide to join in the raid."

"Why are you so worried?" asked another minister, Kayneth Archibald. "This is the warring states after all. Such actions are common. Hoseki is now the strongest among the six, we fear no one."

Kirei shot a glare at Kayneth. "What sort of nonsense are you spouting? If all the five kingdoms decides to raid Hoseki as one, do you think we actually stand a chance?"

Kayneth smirked. "With enough supplies, weapons, training and recruitment, Hoseki will be able to take the top. Ever since the days of King Nagato, Hoseki has never been second in terms of power. Therefore, we cannot lose now. My king, I suggest that we take them on head on, and show them the power of our army. Our general has come up with new strategies, surely this is a good time to show the enemy our power."

"Never, my king!" Kirei exclaimed. "This is suicide. No matter how strong Hoseki is, we can never match the power of all the kingdoms combined. If my king truly wish to show the other kingdoms our power, why not take out Mizu Kingdom first. This kingdom may be small, but it is easy to defend, difficult to launch an attack. All the other kingdoms have tried to attack Mizu, and failed. But if we succeed, then everyone will be awed."

"Mizu is such a small kingdom, it's like using a butcher knife to kill a chicke," Kayneth retorted. "How can this show them our power?"

Kirei turned to Kayneth. "Mizu may be a small kingdom, but it is situated between Hoseki, Yue and Kin. If we take Mizu out, then there will be nothing else between us those two kingdoms. With their current military power, they will not dare to attack us anymore. Furthermore, Mizu can then act as an impact cushion is a war really breaks out."

Tokiomi nodded, satisfied. "Then I will lead this army by myself. I will show them the might of Hoseki myself."

"Long live the king, long live Hoseki!" everyone chanted as one.

His personal eunuch came into the room, whispering into his ear. "My king, the Harem Groundskeeper seeks audience."

"Is it something important?"

"Indeed," the eunuch replied. With a nod from the king, he summoned the woman into the room.

The female minister knelt down, pressing her head to the floor. "Paying respect to my king,"

"Has something happened in my harem?"

She smiled, raising her head. "My king, I come bearing great news. Lady Aoi is pregnant once again."

Tokiomi laughed. "This is indeed good news. I've just decided to lead the army by myself, and now Aoi is pregnant. This is good omen. Good, superb."

"Congratulations, my king!"

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

It was just another normal day in the palace of Kingdom Hoseki. As usual, Rin had come into the South Hall using the backdoor, and was accompanying her father as he read through the scrolls his courtiers and ministers had submitted. Rin was sitting on his lap, munching on a piece of cookie. Her father had one hand around her, and she loved it when her father did that.

She was glad that she had made the decision to come and see her father all those months ago. Now, she had the love of both her father and her mother. Even though the other princes and princesses still made fun of her being the child of a dowry maid, she didn't care. As long as her father loved her, it was enough. Now, there was enough prove to say that Rin was her father's favourite princess.

Who else knew the backdoor into the king's private study? Who else could stay with the king as he dealt with matters of the kingdom? Who else was brave enough to fool around with the king?

She knew the king enjoyed her company. He always brightened up when she was in the room. He would make small talk with her, and it was something she knew he did not do with his other children. He also let her call him "Big Tiger", and in turn, she was his "Little Tiger". She didn't mind. After all, she was the one who started calling him a tiger. It was their way of getting along with each other. Moreover, it was unique, special only for the two of them.

"Father, is it tough running a kingdom?" she asked, looking at the scroll he was reading. Her face scrunched up in concentration as she tried to understand what was written on the scroll. "There are so many words that I don't know…"

Tokiomi laughed, and ruffled her hair. She pouted, unhappy that her hair was now messy. "Well, it takes years of experience to know how to make a good decision. Besides that, you need to read a lot, and learn from the wise ones. You can't do everything on your own, even if you're the king."

"That sounds so complicated," she complained, putting down her cookie. "Don't be a king, father."

Tokiomi raised an eyebrow. "Then what should I be?"

"Just be a good husband to mother, a good father to me, and a bog tiger for your little tiger," she said, a smile plastered on her face.

He laughed, and kissed her forehead. "This is why I love you, Rin. None of my other children will come near me, let alone say something like that to me. You truly are special. If only you're a boy, then I can entrust my kingdom to you. It will be in good hands."

"Then I will be a boy!" she exclaimed. "I can dress up like a boy. Then no one would ever know."

"Unfortunately, the world doesn't work that way," Tokiomi said to her. "You are born as a girl, and as a girl, no matter how good you are, you can never leave a mark in history."

Rin pouted. "It's so unfair…"

Realizing that Rin might sink into another of her mood swings if they continued the topic, he stretched, letting out a groan. "It hurts everywhere. Do you think that little tiger can do something about this?" he said, looking at Rin, smiling.

She beamed when he called her little tiger, and jumped up from his lap. She balled up her fist and began to pound them on her father's back. She made sure that the force she used was enough to relieve the tension in her father's back, but not strong enough to actually hurt him.

Tokiomi smiled, glad that he was able to shift her attention away from a sore topic. He knew that although she was only four, she had always been looked down upon because she was a girl. But this didn't happen to his other princesses, and he knew why.

It was because of the Supreme Star that Kousuke had told him about all those years ago. The man had prophesized the birth of a great monarch, yet a daughter was born. That became the reason Rin was a joke among her siblings. He had initially thought that it might be the reason for Rin to sought him out in the first place.

But, Rin had gone to him because of her mother, and she wanted to be in his presence. That was all the girl wanted. Tokiomi promised himself that he would do whatever he could for the kid if she requested for it. But so far, Rin only wanted his company.

"Is big tiger comfortable?" Rin asked, laughing.

Tokiomi smiled. "Of course. Little tiger has the best hands here in Hoseki."

"If mother hears that, she'll be mad at you," she joked, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Will you love us like this forever?"

His heart ached when she asked that question. Being born and raised in a harem really changed a child a lot. Rin was four years old, and yet she already knew how life was in the palace. The way she asked the question was so unlike his other children, whom begged him to stay with them. She knew that he was not hers or her mother's alone, and they had to share him, and accepted that.

Tokiomi turned to meet teary sapphire orbs. "There, why the tears? I promised you, didn't I? I would protect you and your mother, as long as I'm still here."

"Okay…"

His personal eunuch came into the room, bowing. "My king, the queen and the First Princess is here. They requested to meet you."

"For what?"

"The queen had ordered the Imperial Kitchen to come up with some new desserts. She brought them here herself for my king to have the first time. Furthermore, she said that Princess Sakura misses you."

"She's your little sister," Tokiomi said to Rin. "I hope the two of you can get along well, alright?"

"I will try my best, father!" she promised.

Tokiomi nodded, satisfied. "Summon them then," he told his eunuch.

The queen came into the room, holding the hand of her daughter. Behind her was Yumi, who had a basket in her hand, filled with new desserts the Imperial Kitchen had come up with. Tokiomi smiled at his queen, then directed his gaze to his First Daughter, Sakura. The child was only three years old, but she was quite intelligent in her own way.

Now, Sakura was clutching her mother's kimono, and standing behind her mother, half hiding herself, not daring to look at Tokiomi in the eyes. Even when her mother tried to push her to the front to greet her father, she immediately shied back to hide behind her mother, almost crying.

He knew he couldn't blame her for behaving that way. She was only three. But then again, she was royalty, and the First Princess as well. He refused to have children who are scared of their own father. Yes, they should fear him because he was the king. But not when he was just a father, just like now.

"Paying respect to the king," Miwako said with a graceful bow. Tokiomi waved, signalling for her to stand up straight.

Rin, on the other hand, merely stood beside her father and watched. When she heard a groan coming from her father, she raised her fists and began hitting her father's back, bringing another smile to his lips.

But not to the queen.

"Rin! How dare you?! Such insolence. He's your father, but he is a king before he is a father!" she hollered at her. But Rin merely stopped her actions, and stood there.

Tokiomi held up a hand. "My queen… please. I gave her permission to do so. Don't scold her for that. I heard that you're here because of new desserts. You could have asked the servants to bring them here. There's no need for you to come here on your own."

"I know. But Sakura misses you. So I thought that this is a good chance for her to meet you as well."

Tokiomi nodded. "I heard about it. Come here, Sakura, and let me have a good look at you."

Miwako tried to urge her child forward, but the moment Sakura's grip on her mother's kimono was loosened, she only latched onto the fabric even tighter. To her, Tokiomi was the king more than a father. Because that was what her mother had been telling her, that her father was the king, and she was the first princess. Therefore she must always act all prim and proper, full of elegance.

But she looked at her elder sister, who was standing beside her father. She had seen the older girl acting so casual with the king, and yet the king seemed to be enjoying her company so much. He was smiling, and he didn't even scold her for the so called non-elegance act. She wanted to be like that too. But with her mother, there was no way she could ever do that.

Rin, with a gentle push from her father, stepped forward and took her by both hands. "Say, so you're my younger sister?" she said, a dazzling smile on her lips. "Do you want to go and play together? We can go and play together right, father?" she asked, turning to her father who gave her a nod.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat at the suggestion. She had never had the chance to play with the other prince or princesses. Her brother, Shinji, better known as Crown Prince Aizen was much older than her, and he was all self-centred. He didn't really cared about her existence at all. Now, a sister she had just met had offered to play with her.

"Mother, can we?" she turned to her mother expectantly, but the woman didn't say anything. Sakura lowered her head, not daring to utter another word. She pried Rin's hands away from her, and the older girl seemed a little dejected at it.

"Go on," Tokiomi opened his mouth. "Children should have their fun. Time flies after all. In a few years' time, both of you will be burdened by matters of the kingdom."

Both girls squealed in delight. Rin took her sister's hand once more, and pulled her out from the room. Miwako watched with a cold glare at the older girl, but Rin merely ignored her. Tokiomi watched all this play before his eyes, but he didn't say anything.

"That Rin is a half-breed, my king," Miwako told him. "Have you forgotten what Kousuke had told you all those years ago? That she will bring destruction to you and Hoseki."

Tokiomi narrowed his eyes, fully disagreeing with what his queen was trying to imply. "I thought that we established the fact that Kousuke was only spouting nonsense. Besides, Rin has been by my side for a few months now, and I have yet to see a bad streak in her. In fact, I find her a refreshing change in this dull palace."

Miwako's face twisted in shock. "Whatever do you mean by that? Dull? You are the king. You have a whole kingdom under you. Courtiers, ministers, military, subjects. Look at the harem you possess. They consist of all the finest ladies from all over the kingdoms. And yet you call this life dull? If yes, then look at your charming princes and princesses. Look at how outstanding they are."

He did not reply anything, having his eyes focused on the scroll on his table.

"My king, talking about the harem, I wish to say something. I realized that you seldom come to the harem anymore lately."

"I've been busy with the court. You know how things are in this warring state after all. The kingdoms are always in cross fire, and there is never a day when I can get some rest from it," he looked up at Miwako. "Is that all you have to say to me? If yes, you may take your leave now."

"There is something else that I wish to speak to you," she looked at the king's expression, which remained neutral, and picked her next words carefully. "I know that my king is busy with matters, but my king will still have to go to the harem one of these days. After all, the concubines misses my king. Just like a desert waiting for a drop of rain. Thus, I hope that when my king decides to visit the harem, please do it fairly. Otherwise, there might be complaints."

Tokiomi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And where did my queen hear about these complaints from? Or is the queen the one feeling resentful because I have only been showering affection for Aoi?"

His sapphire blue eyes glared sharply at her, and she gulped in fear. "No, my king. Just that, this is what might happen if my king only showers your affection on one person. My king fully understands how jealous women in the harem can be."

He shook his head in disdain. "This is my choice, and I will bear the consequences myself. I have treated Aoi badly for these few years, and didn't even go and see our daughter since the day she was born. I was a heartless man. Now, I'm just doing what I can for her, in order to try and compensate for my wrongdoings in the past."

"You are the king, you cannot be wrong!"

"Enough. Let's go and see how the girls are doing."

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Meanwhile, young Rin had pulled her younger sister to the outside of the South Hall. They both stood under the shade of a willow which was planted specifically there. Rin thought about things for a while, then smiled a crooked smile.

"So, what are we gonna play?" Sakura asked, her sapphire orbs shining in anticipation.

"Do you know how to fart?" Rin asked, grinning.

Sakura blinked in both surprise and confusion. "Huh? Fart? ... of course I know how to fart. Let me show you." She then tried to force a fart out, but failed.

Rin laughed. "I have a better way to do it. Watch and learn." She rolled up one sleeve, and put her lips to her arm and blew. A farting sound came out, and both girls broke into laughter.

"Let me try," Sakura said to her sister, eager to try it out. She followed what she had seen rin done, and the same sound came out. Both girls laughed again.

"Here, I'll show you how to fart continuously," Rin told her younger sister, and blew a few times on her arm.

Sakura laughed. "That was fun. But we mustn't let mother see what we have been doing. Or else I'll get scolded."

"Why?" Rin queried, cocking her head to one side.

"Cause I'm a princess. A princess is supposed to act all elegant and proper." Sakura explained.

Rin scratched her head in confusion. "But I'm a princess too. My mother never said anything about those. She only told me to stay happy, and do whatever I want."

"Not my mother. She's strict about everything. Look at my brother, the Crown Prince Aizen. He doesn't have a life when he was a child too. Now that he's grown up, he didn't like listening to mother anymore."

Rin crossed her arms. "I can imagine. I mean, life would be so dull with no playing. Sakura-chan, let's play together again sometime. I can hear father's footsteps already."

A few seconds later, the door of the South Hall opened, and both Tokiomi and Miwako stepped out. Rin and Sakura exchanged looks, and laughed at the same time. Tokiomi had an approving look on his face, but Miwako was unhappy with how things were turning out.

_When we get back, I need to tell Sakura to stay away from that half-breed…_

_To be continued~_

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

**Hi guys. So we reached the end of another chapter, eh? Miwako still sees Rin as a thorn in her eyes. I bet that she's gonna make Aoi and Rin's life miserable. With Tokiomi about to go into a war, he can no longer protect the two females as he is no longer by their side. **

**Hmm… lets read on, and we'll know. **


	7. Arc 1: Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate Stay Night or Legend of MiYue. This is just a fan's work, nothing more. I make no profit out of this. This is just for my interest in writing, and for those out there who would like to read this, nothing more.

SPOILERS ALERT: If you are planning to watch Legend of MiYue, then I need to warn you that this story contains heavy spoilers for that drama.

**Hi guys, and good morning. Yes, it is a Sunday here right now, and it's my off day too. That's why I'm updating this today. So, here we are with another chapter of Golden Dreams. Do enjoy. **

**Arc 1 Chapter 6**

Sakura sat on a cushion, her small hands rummaging through the basket, searching for something. The basket stored all her mother's knitting items, and right now, she needed those stuffs to help her with a little present. She had spent quite an amount of time with her elder sister lately, and she was fond of the girl's company, despite what her mother told her every time she went out to meet Rin.

Spending time with the older girl made her realized just how different Rin was from the other princes and princesses in the palace. Rin's actions, in the eyes of the other concubines, were indecent and non-elegant. But her mother, Lady Aoi, had never criticized her on how she should act. Even their father, the king, had never said a word on Rin's actions and behaviour. In fact, he was happy with the difference, and he always preferred her company instead of his concubines or other children.

Sakura was envious. She had wanted to learn how Rin act, but she was scolded harshly by her mother, the queen, for having such thoughts in the first place. Her mother hated Rin, but she had never enlightened her on the reason. Thus, in secret, when there were only her and her sister, she would act more carefree, just like her sister. She felt more like herself, and she would smile and laugh genuinely.

"Princess Hoshi, what are you looking for?" asked Yumi. Hoshi was her title, and she loved it, because her older sister was Tsuki. Together, they were one.

"I'm looking for some materials to make a small pouch," she replied, eyes fixated on the items in the basket.

"Who are you going to give it to?" Miwako asked, coming into the room.

Sakura immediately stood up, not daring to meet her mother's eyes. "It's… for nee-chan," her voice came out shaking, and tears began to fill her eyes. She knew how her mother felt about the older girl, and she was always scared when the topic was brought up.

Miwako narrowed her eyes, feeling the temper growing inside of her. She brought a hand up to her forehead, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She closed her eyes, trying to push away a headache she knew was coming. Counting to ten, she tried to calm herself down before opening her eyes and looking at her daughter.

"Why can't you be like Shinji?" she asked her child, kneeling down so they could see eye to eye. "Your brother may be stupid at time, but at least he is acting like how a proper prince should act. You on the other hand, you spend too much time with that half-breed, and now she has dared to ask things from you."

Sakura sniffed, trying to hold back the tears. "She didn't… I'm the one who wants to do this… nee-chan's birthday is coming up soon."

"Listen to me!" Miwako said to her, raising her voice a little. "She is not your sister! I will never acknowledge the seed of that vile woman as a princess. She is a half-breed, nothing more. You are the First Princess. When you come to age, you are the one who will carry great responsibility of the kingdom. In the very end, she would still be nothing."

"But father likes nee-chan… I wanna be like nee-chan…"

Miwako could feel her veins popping. After everything that she had taught her child over the years, she was disappointed to hear such words from her. She had raised her to be better than this, not to follow in the footsteps of that wild-child. She had wanted the best for her child, but Sakura chose to spend more time with the half-breed rather than focusing on her studies. She even heard from the girl's tutor that she had skipped quite a few lessons.

"She is a half-breed," Miwako told her, her patience thinning. "How many times do you want me to tell you that? Look at how insolent she is to the king. That is not how someone should act in the presence of a king. Your father may not be annoyed now, since it is still fresh to him. But sooner or later, he will get annoyed. If you continue to stay with her, you might be scolded, or even worse, hated by your father. Do you want that to happen?"

Sakura shook her head, her tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. "No… but, but nee-chan has been so good to me. I just want to give her a little present. Please?"

"No means no," Miwako said sternly, placing both her hands on Sakura's shoulder, squeezing slightly. "And I mean it. Don't ever go to meet up with her ever again. If you want to please your father, use other ways. Go to see him more."

"No…" Sakura sobbed. "Father has such a stern face. I'm afraid of him…"

Miwako closed her eyes, and silently counted to ten. She reopened her eyes. "He's the king. Of course he has to look stern, but your father loves you, can't you see that?"

She nodded. "Come on then. I'll have your brother bring you with him later this afternoon when he goes to see your father."

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Later that afternoon, Shinji held Sakura's hand as they made their way to the South Hall, where their father was reading though scrolls submitted by his ministers. He had reluctantly brought his younger sister along, after a few threats from their mother. When Sakura was first born, he was actually happy because he had another sibling. But as the girl grew up, he felt that all the attention their mother gave was to her.

He was bitter about it. Not to mention that his father was the king, and he had so many children. There was no way the king could show favouritism among the children. But he liked to think that he was liked the most by his father, just because he was the Crown Prince. He always told the other princes that he was the king's favourite. That was why he was the Crown Prince, but none of them believed him.

All of them knew just how arrogant and stupid Shinji was. At the same time, they also knew just how close Shinji was to losing the title of Crown Prince with his recent actions. He had forcefully taken another maiden to bed, and had enraged the king. Shinji had no choice but to marry the woman, or he would've immediately lose his position as Crown Prince. In order to not embarrass himself to be the first to be kicked off the seat of Crown Prince, he could only do as his father, the king wanted.

"Nii-san…" Sakura called. "It's hot."

"Bear with it," he hissed in reply. "It's summer."

Sakura tried to pull her hand away from her brother's grip, not wanting to bear with sweating palms against each other anymore. But Shinji grunted and held her hand tighter, causing her to whimper. Another glare from him, and Sakura didn't dare to make a sound anymore. She didn't want to look at her brother, so she stared at the pebble stoned pavement they were walking on.

"Lady Kazuha, a fine day to meet you here," Shinji greeted with a lecherous smile, and bowed out of mock politeness, all the while his eyes were set on herbody.

Kazuha averted her gaze from those eyes. "Good day to you too, Crown Prince. Though I might have to give you some advice since we have the misfortune to bump into each other."

"Oh?" he replied, eyes narrowing.

"I am your father's concubine. Do refrain from speaking with me. I have no interests in following the steps of that poor maiden who had to marry a snob."

Shinji felt a vein throbbing on his forehead. Gritting his teeth, he hissed out his next words. "Watch what you are saying, bitch. You may be my father's woman, but he will die soon. And when that time comes, I will make you **my **woman, and grovel at my feet."

Kazuha laughed. "My dear Crown Prince, then make sure that you stay on the seat of the Crwon prince. Do not forget that there are other people out there, waiting for you to fall," she said with mirth in her voice.

"You?!"

"Oh, and do send my regards to your mother. This time, **I **will be the one in charge of Lady Aoi's pregnancy. After all, the queen has the whole harem to run, and it will be unbecoming of me if I were to trouble her with such trivial matters."

"That has nothing to do with me!" he snarled in rage. "I will have you take back what you said to me just now right here and right now!"

Kazuha curtsied. "I apologise. I have no time to stand around and continue my chat with you, my prince, even if I do find these banters amusing. I have a pregnant concubine to take care of. If anything should happen to her during my absence because you were holding me up, what would the king say?"

With that, Kazuha left the two sibling. Shinji stared hard after her, fuming in rage at the humiliation he had received from her in such a short amount of time. He vowed that he would make the woman pay, even if that's the last thing he would ever do. He shrugged off his sister's hand, hence the young girl held onto his sleeve instead.

He turned abruptly, and began to walk in the direction of the South Hall once more. His sudden movements caught Sakura off guard. The child staggered for a bit before catching up with her brother's pace. In her mind, she was trying to process what she had heard. To her, it seemed like a pretty normal conversation, except that she could feel that both of them hated each other.

"Nii-san?"

"Shut up and walk!" he roared back. "Or I'll leave you alone!"

Sakura didn't dare to say another word, and focused on trying to keep up with her brother. Her brother was angry, that much she knew, and she wanted to know why. She wanted to help her brother, but her brother wasn't in the mood to talk to her at the moment, and she didn't want to upset him even further.

"Come on, Sakura. Stop wasting my time," he said impatiently.

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Rin laughed when Tokiomi tickled her sides. She raised her fists in protest, and quickly rolled away from her father. Still laughing, she got up to her feet, and tackled her father once more, only to get tickled again. Tokiomi smiled at the sight, and felt free from all of his duties at that moment. All he cared about in the world at that moment was Rin's well-being.

"Let's see whether my little tiger would dare to tackle me anymore," he said with a laugh of his own.

"No, please let me go!" she wailed, wriggling in his strong arms. "Father, I will never tackle you anymore!"

Tokiomi released his hold, helping her up to her feet. He studied her, noting how tussled her hair was from their earlier banter, and raised a hand to help smooth out the curls. Rin smiled brightly at the attention, and hugged him.

"Hey father," she whispered. "Will you carry me on your back?"

"Why this sudden request?"

Rin didn't say anything for a while, and stared only at the ground. Then, she looked into her father's aqua marine eyes. "Cause mother told me that big tigers would carry the cubs in their mouth. And since I am not going to let you bite me on the neck, I wanna try riding on your back."

"Ah…" Tokiomi rubbed his chin. "But I thought only the mother would do that? I'm a man."

"What's the difference? A mother is a parent. So is a father. Why stick to all the old traditions when you are the king? You are the rule. No one would say anything."

He laughed, not expecting the answer. Rin was only four after all, though it would be her fifth birthday in another month. But she was still a child no matter how he looked at it. Often at times, he would think, whether she was really the prophesized Supreme Star. From what he could see in this past half a year, his daughter had showed intelligence and maturity far beyond her age, surprising him again and again.

He had always thought to himself about Rin. If only she was born as a boy, how much could the child achieve in the future. But being born as a girl meant that she had no control over her own fate, her own future. She was going to end up as someone's wife, and end up taking care of an estate at most. At the very worst, she would end up as a dowry maid just like her mother, and forced to compete for her own life in a harem.

"All right then, little tiger," he said, standing up. "I'll be a good big tiger for once."

"You are always a nice big tiger," she told him, beaming. Hoping onto his back, and wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, she nuzzled against his cheek. "Father, you're the best!"

"Hold on tight, alright?" Tokiomi said, feeling her grip on him tighten. He began to walk around the room.

Rin held out a hand and touched his forehead. "I can touch the tiger's head," she said, laughing, then moved her hand to his nose. "I can touch the tiger's nose too."

"I hope you enjoy this ride, little tiger. Because this is going to be the first time and last time big tiger is doing this for you."

She puffed out her cheeks, and pulled at his cheek. "It's not fair, father. I thought you want me to be happy," she mumbled, and he nodded slightly. "Then you have to do this again, or I'll never be happy."

"Oh? And will there be any more similar requests from you?" he queried, smiling a bit. He was just teasing her, enjoying how that little face scrunch up when things did not proceed in the way she wanted. "You're such a kid."

"But I am a kid!" she said in a high sing-song voice.

He laughed. "That you are."

His eunuch chose that moment to enter the room. He stopped laughing, and put up his usual stern expression. He put Rin down, and this time, the girl didn't make a fuss about it. She merely held onto the sleeve of his kimono, and stared at the eunuch, making the man uncomfortable.

"Paying respect to my king," the eunuch bowed to the king. "My king, the Crown Prince and First Princess are here."

"For what matter?" he questioned, and held out a hand to hold Rin's.

"The Crown Prince has something to discuss with my king about the upcoming war. The First Princess merely tagged along."

Tokiomi narrowed his eyes. He didn't like what he was hearing. If that was what the Crown Prince told his eunuch, then Shinji was about to get a good scolding. He knew the boy didn't like his other siblings, including Sakura. And he was never the type to let someone "tag" along. It must be his queen.

"Let them in," he uttered, and sat down once more. Rin sat down beside him, reaching out for a cookie. The eunuch bowed once more, and left the room.

A few moments later, Shinji walked into the room, carrying an air of arrogance. He missed the small sound of his father's grunt, but Rin didn't miss it. She put a hand on his, trying to calm him down, and he smiled at the touch.

"Paying respect to my father, the king," he said, bowing. "Father, I am here to discuss matters about the upcoming war."

Sakura came into room at that time, and timidly hid behind her brother. Shinji grunted, and pushed her to the front. Standing between two men whom she feared – her brother and father -, she had no choice but to stand there, looking at the ground.

Rin sensed her younger sister's unease, and let go of her father's hand. She jumped up from her place, and bounced over to her sister, kissing the girl on her cheek. Sakura immediately brightened up, and smiled at her sister.

"Father, may we?" Rin asked, turning to meet her father's eyes. He gave her a slight nod, and Rin immediately pulled Sakura along with her, ignoring the jeers Shinji was sending her way. She jutted her chin at him, earning another scoff from him.

"What are you doing here?" Tokiomi queried, taking up a scroll. "I told you before, don't come here to see me unless I summon you."

"The last time you summoned me was a year ago," he replied, some anger seeping into his voice. "I wanted to show you how much I've grown."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and by that, do you mean how much you've grown in your bad temper? I can see that you have yet to be able to control your temper? Is this the tone you should be taking with your father?"

He huffed, and his nostrils flared. He hated how true his father was. He hated how his father could read him like a book even though he had not seen him for so long. He hated how his father would see his other children, but refused to see him. At times, he wished his father would just die, and leave the throne to him.

Once he had the throne, he would be able to do whatever he wanted, and no longer have to listen to others, bow to others. He would be the king at that time, and whatever he said would be the rule. He would be obeyed, no doubt about that. He was lost in his daydream, and didn't hear what his father said to him.

" … if you have nothing to say to me, then leave my sight," Tokiomi said to him. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed.

Shinji blinked. _Just like this? Without listening to what I want to say? And you call yourself my father? Don't jest with me!_

"If you're cursing in your head, you can stop it. I have no interest in what you have to say in the first place anyway. You are a disappointment. I'm just waiting for a chance to change my Crown Prince."

With that, Tokiomi went back to his scrolls, and ignored the seething Shinji still standing in front of him.

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Rin held Sakura's hand as the two went for an afternoon stroll in the Imperial Gardens. Although it was summer, the garden was quite cool as there were a lot of greenery. They loved coming to the garden all the time. They would pick flowers, and make tiara out of them. Or just walk around, enjoying the view and each other's company.

"Nee-chan…" Sakura started. "I may not be able to see you anymore after this."

Rin could feel the unease and sadness in her sister's voice. "Why?"

"Mother doesn't like it when I'm with you."

The older girl frowned. "Oh come on. Your mother never liked me from the moment I was still in my mother's womb. And until now, I still don't know why she hates me so much. I don't want to know as well."

"But my mother's the queen," Sakura replied lamely.

Rin scoffed. "I know. But our father is the king. This is the palace. Our father is the most powerful person here. As long as he is around, he'll make sure that I won't be bullied."

"How nice…" Sakura said, pouting a little. "Speaking of power, I've been meaning to tell you something, nee-chan."

"Oh?"

Sakura tried to think up a good way to put it. "Well, I am the First Princess. Although I am younger than you, you need to pay respect to me when you see me."

"Is that so? Very well then. I will do it," Rin replied, kneeling and pressing her head to the ground. She then stood up, and dusted herself off. "Now, it's your turn to pay respect to me."

"Huh? Why?" the younger girl queried, confused.

"It is impolite not to reciprocate. My mother taught me this."

Sakura smiled, and knelt down, pressing her head to the ground as well.

It was just Rin's luck again. The queen chose that moment to appear. And looking at her expression, she wasn't happy with what she was seeing.

"Sakura, what are you doing?!" she hollered.

_To be continued~_

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

**Wow, the queen sure knows how to get her timing right. Is this gonna effect how Rin and Sakura see each other in the future? Look at Shinji, already being a jerk. If he's the king, the kingdom is going to fall soon. **

**That's all from me, see you guys next time, bye~**


	8. Arc 1: Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate Stay Night or Legend of MiYue. This is just a fan's work, nothing more. I make no profit out of this. This is just for my interest in writing, and for those out there who would like to read this, nothing more.

SPOILERS ALERT: If you are planning to watch Legend of MiYue, then I need to warn you that this story contains heavy spoilers for that drama.

**Hi guys, another good morning to you all. Welcome back to another chapter here at Golden Dreams. I thank you all for the support so far. Love you all. **

**Ronin: Thanks for leaving a review. Don't worry, I'll keep up with the weekly updates. **

**Arc 1 Chapter 7**

"Sakura, what are you doing?!"

Rin resisted the urge to roll her eyes when she heard that voice. She could recognize that voice anywhere, and it was starting to get on her nerves a lot lately. She never could understand why the woman hated her so much, when she had never done any damage to either her or Sakura. To her, it just seemed like the queen liked to pick fights with her.

Reluctantly, she turned to meet Miwako's enraged expression. She put on a blank expression, and bowed. "Paying respect to my queen," she said, all emotions devoid from her voice. She had no interest to see her now, and even less to talk to her.

"Sakura, what are you doing?!" Miwako turned to her child, completely ignoring Rin's presence, which suited the older girl just fine. "Why are you bowing to a half-breed like her? You are the First Princess, for god's sake!"

Rin balled her fists so tight her knuckles turned white. She bit her lower lip from lashing out there and then, until she could taste the coppery taste of blood in her mouth. She had always hated how the queen would refer her and her mother as half-breeds. They were humans too, so why must they endure all these humiliation? Her mother and Lady Kazuha had always told her to endure it, and stay silent about it. But the more she stayed silent, the more Miwako would trample over her as if she was just a piece of good for nothing trash.

"What did you just call me?" she hissed through gritted teeth.

Miwako ignored her. She didn't want to deal with a half-breed right now. She walked over to Sakura and crouched down in front of her, dusting her daughter's kimono. She then cupped her child's cheeks. But Sakura didn't dare to meet her gaze. She balled her fists, and looked at everywhere except her mother's face.

"Listen to me, and listen well. She is the child of that fox woman. Someone who used vile and dark magic to seduce your father into loving her. This half-breed is the seed of her mother's plans. Do you really wish to socialize with that kind of demon? She will destroy you one of these days. Listen to me, Sakura. I will do you no harm."

Rin could only see black before her body moved on its own accord. Before she knew it, hot tears streamed down her cheeks, and her fists connected with the queen's face. She stared at her own fist as if it was an alien, then her gaze moved to Miwako, who was sitting on the ground, a hand to her bruised cheek.

The queen felt the burning heat in her cheek, and Rin;s outstretched hand. When the hit first landed, she didn't realized it. Only when she found herself sitting on the ground, the burning pain decided to hit her. She couldn't believe her eyes. A mere half-breed had actually raised her hand against the queen, with enough force to knock her to the ground.

She let a smile crept onto her face. The half-breed had actually raised her hand. It would be that much easier to dispose of her now. By just being disrespectful, Miwako could sentence her to a death penalty, and she intended to do just that. With the brat out of the picture, she was sure that Aoi would crumble from the lost of her child as well.

"My queen…" Yumi called out, finally snapping out of the shock. She immediately helped the queen up, and turned to Rin, slapping the girl across the face. The force she administered was enough to throw the girl off her feet, and drawing blood from Rin's lips. "How dare of you to raise your dirty hand against the queen?! Insolent brat!"

Without a word, Rin stood up and wiped the blood away. Her sapphire orbs still glared at Miwako, who was already smirking. She knew that she spelt her own death sentence when she hit her, but she could care less about it now. It was one thing to insult her, but it was another to insult her mother.

"Shut the hell up, bitch," she spat, venom dripping from her voice. "You can insult me all you want, but leave my mother out of this. She has nothing to do with this."

"No?" Miwako let the word out, smiling all the way. She walked over to Rin, towering her. Reaching out, she grabbed Rin's wrist, closing her fingers around the limb tightly, making the girl wince in pain. "Let's see you raise your hand to me once more then."

"Punish me all you want, but leave my mother out of this."

The queen laughed, throwing her head back. "Leave her alone? Leave her alone? Never!" she stared down at Rin, finally seeing the fear in the girl's eyes. "You committed an act of insolence and disrespect. This is all because of your mother's teachings. Yumi, bring our _princess _to the punishment chambers, and make sure she is properly being taken care of."

"With pleasure," Yumi replied, bowing.

She grabbed Rin by both her arms and pulled her away by force. The girl tried to stand her ground, but Yumi delivered a swift kick to her ribcage, and she immediately crumpled, more blood leaking out from the corner of her lips. She glared at Yumi, but the servant merely shrugged.

"With an act of disrespect towards the queen, I no longer need to treat you like a princess. Now, shall we do this the hard way or the easy way?"

Sakura knelt down, sobbing and pulling at her mother's kimono. "Mother, please. Don't send nee-chan to the Punishment chambers. She would die there."

"Then she should've known her place. Having the First Princes bowing to her?"

"It's impolite not to reciprocate, you know…" Rin muttered in a low voice, but Miwako still picked it up. "If you want other people to respect you, then you have to respect them first."

"You half-breed!" Miwako hollered, raising her hand once more, and landing soundly on Rin's cheek, snapping her head to one side. "Don't you dare to take that tone with me! I will make sure that you never get to see the blue sky anymore. Oh, don't worry. I will make sure your mother is there to accompany you.

"NO!" Rin screamed, struggling against Yumi's hold. But the pain in her cheek and chest prevented her from moving around too much. In the end, she could only watch as she was dragged away by Yumi, with Sakura watching, tears in her eyes. The queen had a smug expression on her face, as if she had won the battle.

_Even if I die today, I will not die by your hands._

_Even if I die today, I will haunt you for the rest of your life._

"Come on, brat, walk!" Yumi commanded her, letting her go. "I don't want to touch your dirty arms, so just be obedient and walk on your own."

"Whatever…" she mumbled, and stood up straight. She dragged her feet slowly, with Yui walking behind her.

"Look, kid," she started, but Rin was trying to tune her out. She was in no mood to listen to more ramblings of their 'victory' over a child. "I hold no grudge against you, and I don't hate you. But the queen's orders are absolute."

Rin scoffed, feeling the dull ache in her ribs subside to a pain she could bear with. "I thought the king was the one to hold absolute power."

"In the harem, the queen holds the power," Yumi replied, letting some of her impatience slip into her voice.

"Whatever…" she drawled, spotting a boulder in the distance, with jagged edges. They were still in the Imperial Garden after all. "It hurts. Can we rest here a while?"

Yumi thought about it, and nodded. She stood over Rin as the girl gingerly lowered herself to sit on flat rock, wincing as she did so. The servant closed her eyes, bringing a sleeve up to wipe the sweat away from her forehead.

The moment she closed her eyes, she heard hurried footsteps, clattering against the pavement as they sounded further and further away. She hastily wiped the sweat away, and opened her eyes to see Rin running away.

"Even if you run, the queen still have the royal guards!" she shouted after the girl. She smirked, enjoying it even though she didn't really hated the girl. She was only following orders after all.

The thing which happened next almost shocked her to death. She watched as Rin ran towards the boulder. She thought the girl was going to change direction at the last minute possible. But the girl only accelerated, and crashed head first into the boulder. Rin then staggered, falling to the ground face first, laying still.

A small pool of blood begin to form around the head of the still girl. Even from a distance, Yumi could see the pool of scarlet beneath the girl's head, and slowly expanding. She took a staggering step back, then screamed out in fear, running away from the scene instead of getting help for Rin.

But her screams brought other maids and eunuch to the scene. They took one look at the princess and immediately went for help. One of the eunuch ran in the direction of South Hall, shouting all the way.

"Princess Tsuki has been injured! Princess Tsuki has been injured!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping the message would reach the king's ears before he had to deliver them in person.

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Aoi rubbed her stomach, a motherly smiled plastered on her face. Kazuha watched her silently with a smile of her own. She was happy for Aoi, even if it meant that she wasn't the one to receive the king's affection. But she knew Aoi's personality. Aoi would never leave her behind just because she now had the love of the king. Because she knew Kazuha had been the one to initiate things for her in the first place. Otherwise, the king wouldn't have even noticed her, a mere dowry maid at that time.

"Lady Kazuha, thank you for what you've done for me," she said gratefully.

Kazuha smiled, shaking her head slightly. "There's no need for you to be so formal around me. We are sisters after all. Besides, I'm the child's godmother."

Aoi smiled, truly appreciating the fact that Kazuha had decided to take matters into her hand this time before the queen could make her move. Even after all these years, she still couldn't forget the fact that her first child was almost murdered. Just the thought of it was enough for her to get shivers on her back.

She didn't want the child she was carrying now to go through the same thing. All she wanted was a peaceful life in the palace, but the queen had to believe some sort of prophecy and decided to put things to the test.

"What are you thinking about?" Kazuha queried, lifting a cup of tea to her lips.

"About how close I was to losing Rin…" she murmured in a low voice.

But Kazuha still heard it. She put down her cup, and sighed. In a soft voice, she reassured the younger woman. "I won't let the same thing happen again. Even if it costs me my life, I will make sure that Rin is safe. Until she is able to protect herself."

Aoi turned to look at Kazuha in the eyes. "I have a feeling that I might never get the chance to see her grow up. To see her get married."

She reached out for Aoi's hand. "What are you talking about? Of course you will get the chance. You have the king's affection. He will protect the both of you."

Aoi tried to smile, a lone tear sliding down her cheek.

The door burst open, and Yuuka came into the room in a hurry. She was supposed to run an errand to the Imperial Kitchen to get some green bean soup, but the basket she had brought with her was nowhere in sight. Furthermore, her clothes were drenched with sweat, her breathing laboured, as if she had ran the whole way back.

"Yuuka, did something happen?"

"My ladies…" she panted. "Princess Tsuki… Princess Tsuki…"

Aoi stood up quickly, her face pale. "Rin?! What happened to her?!"

"Lady Aoi, the princess was gravely wounded in the Imperial Garden. She is in critical condition. Practitioner Shion is tending to her injuries now."

A hand moved to cover the scream which threatened to tear out of her throat. Her mind became a complete blank. To her, it seemed her words just a few minutes ago had come true, and she hated herself for saying such things. A wave of pain hit her, and she hissed in pain, hitting the ground hard.

Before she completely blacked out, only one thought passed her mind.

_Am I going to lose both my children in one day?_

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Kazuha sat there, numb after hearing the news. She tried to register the information, but her mind was a complete blank. Rin just headed over to the South Hall, bugging the hell out of the king as usual. Why would she get injured all of a sudden? There was no way the king would let anything happen to her.

Which meant that the girl had left the South Hall on her own volition. But it was still early. Normally Rin would stay there until dinner, then the king would carry her back to her mother, and the three of them would sit down for dinner.

A conclusion formed in her head, and her eyes narrowed. She could guess what had happened. Somehow, Rin must'd gotten on the queen's nerves again. But that couldn't be all. The queen wouldn't dare to cause a ruckus right out in public as well.

_What am I missing?_

She shook her head violently.

_No, this isn't the time. It can wait… the pressing matter at hand is Rin's injuries and Aoi's condition. _

"Yuuka, get a royal practitioner here…" she managed to get the words out. "Then you head over to Rin, and make sure she's alright. I'll be there after I make sure Aoi is alright."

The servant could only nod, still in a state of shock. She turned to leave the room, but not before glancing at Aoi's direction once more. She swallowed hard, and hardened her heart to leave her mistress.

"Shao Si Ming, please watch over the two of them…" Kazuha murmured, and finally moved to cradle Aoi in her arms.

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Tokiomi put down the brush he was holding, and inspected the scroll he had been working on after his son left the room. He crinkled his nose. The room still reeked of whatever scent that Shinji was using. He stood up, stretching. He sighed, followed by a tired groan escaping from his lips.

He blinked a few times, trying to clear the blurriness that was starting to cloud his eyes. He looked around his hall, and smiled. He already missed the laughter of his daughter. He walked towards the door, and squinted against the rays of the evening sun.

He smiled. Soon it would be dusk, and he would be able to see his family again. He never knew that he had it in him to love one single woman so much. Even when he was a kid, he had seen how his father treated women, and there was never a single one who received his everything. The reason was simple. They were kings, and kings were not beings who could harbour emotions solely on one person, not even their queens.

He sighed. It was at times like this when he would lament his own identity. That he was born as a prince, and he could never give his wife truly undivided love, and Rin his full attention. To him, they might be the only ones in the palace to fully understand him. Not only that, Rin had thrown light in his life that he had never seen before. Her manners, her speech, her everything were so different from all the other royalties in the palace, making her stand out-like a sore thumb. Yet her mother did not reprimand her, or asked her to change her manners or speech patterns, which was something never been heard of in the palace walls.

And he liked it, more than he would ever admit. In fact, it was because of her unique personality which intrigue him so much in the first place. That brought them so close to each other in the first place.

"My king! My king!" his eunuch yelled, out of breath from all the running.

Tokiomi sighed, closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. There was never a day when the palace would be in a peaceful state. Some people never learn. They just loved to whip up trouble when he felt he wanted to deal with them the least.

"Stop screaming like a maniac," he said to the eunuch when he came closer. "What is it this time?"

"My king, Princess Tsuki was found injured in the Imperial Gardens. When my apprentice reached the scene, as he was in the garden at that time, he saw the queen's right hand woman fleeing the scene, screaming."

Tokiomi narrowed his eyes, his irises almost slit like. The eunuch took a step backwards. "And? What are you trying to imply? Are you saying that my queen is the one responsible for this?"

The eunuch knelt down so quickly a thud sound could be heard. He pressed his head to the floor, his voice trembling. "I dare not, my king. I'm just stating the truth.'

"I will get to the bottom of this myself with a thorough investigation," he said in a stern voice. "Where is Rin now?"

"They brought her back to Cloud Dream Palace," he replied. "Lady Aoi has also fainted after hearing the news… and, the practitioners said that she might have a miscarriage.

_No… this can't be true…_

_Rin just left the South Hall not an hour ago… I just went to see Aoi during lunch… and now, both mother and daughter are in grave danger…_

_I'm not a good husband, nor a good father…_

_I promised…_

He shook his head, trying to clear all the negative thoughts away from his head.

_Things have already happened. The only thing I can do now is to stay by their side…_

"Come, I will go to Cloud Dream Palace now."

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

When he walked into the Cloud Dream Palace, he saw only the queen standing in the hall. There was no sign of Kazuha, who was the owner of the palace. His eyes darted around the palace, and found the door to Aoi's bedchamber open, and made his way towards it.

Kazuha stopped him at the door. "My king, the practitioner is inside. You cannot enter."

"How are they?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Aoi has a miscarriage. She lost the child."

He felt his entire mind went blank. "Rin?"

"She lost quite an amount of blood. But given time, she will recover."

He nodded, relieved flooding his body. At least Rin was safe. If he were to lose both children in a day, he wouldn't know how to face Aoi or his ancestors. He strode over to where Miwako was standing.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" his voice dangerously low.

_To be continued~_

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

**And that's it for now. I'll see you guys again next week.**


	9. Arc 1: Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate Stay Night or Legend of MiYue. This is just a fan's work, nothing more. I make no profit out of this. This is just for my interest in writing, and for those out there who would like to read this, nothing more.

SPOILERS ALERT: If you are planning to watch Legend of MiYue, then I need to warn you that this story contains heavy spoilers for that drama.

**Hi guys, another good morning to you all. Welcome back to another chapter here at Golden Dreams. I thank you all for the support so far. Love you all. **

**Ronin: Thank you for the support. **

**Arc 1 Chapter 7**

She had never seen the king so furious. Not even after being married to him for so long. For as long as she could remember, the king had always had a good temper, and had never raised his voice against anyone. Now, for a mere concubine and her half-breed child, he was mad and raising his voice with her? Never in her entire life had she felt so inferior to another, so humiliated. She pressed down her own anger.

"My king, it wasn't my fault. That half-breed…" she started.

Tokiomi put out a hand to stop her, his eyes burning with rage. "Stop calling her a half-breed. She is my daughter, a princess. Her mother is my concubine, a woman I love and care for. A fellow sister in your harem. Rin? She's your daughter as much as she is mine and Aoi's, since you are the queen."

Miwako snorted. "I have no daughter as impudent as her. She has no manners, I tell you. Look at how she behaves around you? What would other people say?"

"I see no problem with it. That's how she is, and I love her for being who she is."

She couldn't understand. She didn't want to understand. How could that half-breed get his attention, his love, his everything, so quickly, in such a short time, leaving her to eat the dust? She couldn't understand why Tokiomi choose the impudent brat more than his other children, who actually acted like true royalties.

"Do you know what she had Sakura do today? She had my daughter to kneel down and pay respect to her. That, that half-breed. How dare she?! Sakura is the First Princess!"

He slapped her in the face, no longer holding back. She touched her burning cheek, hot tears stinging her eyes. She couldn't believe that her won husband raised his hand against her for such a matter, for a mere brat.

"I said to stop calling her a half-breed!" he roared in rage. "I still see no fault in that. Rin is Sakura's elder sister. First Princess or not, Sakura should respect her sister."

"But…"

He shook his head. "No buts. I'm disappointed in you, Miwako. For such a small matter, you would resort to hurting the child. If something were to happen to her, how are you going to repent? If she dies, can you give her back her life?"

"She has no importance…" Miwako tried to retort lamely.

"She matters to Aoi. She matters to me," he told her. "Go back to your palace. From today onwards, you are forbidden to leave the palace without my permission. Go back and think about what you've done. I have yet to decide what to do with you."

Miwako bowed. "Understood, my king," she said in a defeated voice. She turned to leave.

"Perhaps, you are not suitable to be queen," he said in a low voice.

But she heard him anyway. The words felt like a thousand blades stabbing into her heart. She didn't turn back. She didn't want him to see her tears. She didn't want him to know angry she was for him to choose them over her. She didn't want to see him angry at her anymore. She didn't want to see love that wasn't for her anyway.

As much as she wanted to deny things, she knew she had no position in the king's heart anymore.

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Her eyelids felt heavy, as if she had not opened them for years. But she remembered waking up that morning, so she couldn't actually have slept for that long. But with how her body was reacting to the process of waking up, she dared to bet that she wasn't exactly in the best of conditions.

A hoarse groan escaped her parched lips, and she tried one more time to open her eyes. It still felt heavy, but she willed more force to them, and they opened into a small slit. Dim light entered her eyes, and she pressed them shut again. She reopened them slowly this time, giving herself time to get accustomed to the light.

A sharp pain lanced through her head, and she hissed in pain. She raised a hand to her forehead, feeling a strip of cloth wrapped around her head. It felt wet. When she pulled her hand away, she saw a red sticky substance clinging to her hand.

_And after all I did, I'm not dead?_

"Rin?" a voice called out. She felt someone sitting down beside her, running a hand through her hair. She felt comforted by them. The voice and touch was familiar, but her mind wS still clouded by the pain, and she didn't want to think too much right now.

"Is she awake?" another voice asked.

It was a voice that she knew as well. She opened her eyes once more, and tried to make out who they were. But her vision was still blurry, and everything she saw was just a mixture of shapes and colours. She closed her eyes, and bit back another moan of pain. She felt the air shift around her, then a pair of arms wrapped around her, pulling her head to rest in her lap.

"Take it easy," the voice told her. "You suffered a severe head injury. It won't do you any good to start pushing yourself so hard now."

She tried to nod, but her body refused to comply. She was sinking into the darkness again, but this time, she welcomed it to drown out the pain she was feeling.

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

Kazuha looked down at the sleeping girl in her lap, and smiled a bit. She continued to stroke the girl's head, hoping that it would comfort her a bit in her sleep. She watched Rin's face as she slept, and wondered why the queen would still wish for the child's death, even after all these years. She thought that the queen had long forgotten about the trash talk about the Supreme Star. But what happened today, convinced her otherwise.

Or, there was a reason she had yet to find out.

Knowing the queen's personality and behaviour well, she was sure that Rin had managed to piss the woman off a lot of times in the past few months. Perhaps the woman finally snapped, and decided to carry out some sort of punishment, and went too far with it.

She frowned. Something wasn't right. Her deduction didn't feel right. She knew the queen hated them, but she would never resort to such matters as well. Maybe a punishment or public humiliation, but never to the extend of drawing blood. No matter what, Rin was a princess too.

"My lady, what are you thinking about?"

She turned to Yuuka. "Just about what happened…"

"They say the queen has a hand in it, do you believe them?"

She shook her head slightly. "Not at all… this is the queen we are talking about. If she really wants to kill Rin, she would've done it in the dark. She wouldn't have asked Yumi to do it as well. Furthermore, Yumi wouldn't have showed her face in the first place. Is someone trying to frame her, or is this an accident?"

Yuuka looked confused. "What do you mean, my lady?"

She sighed, and closed her eyes. Too much had happened in one day, and it was overwhelming her. There was no way she could just accept things like that without making heads or tails about the matter.

Aoi was her sister, and had been by her side for so long, for every moment when she was alone, far away from home. She had always wanted to do something for the younger woman, but now, it seemed that her so called help of getting the king's affection only placed her in deeper waters.

The news of her child injured sent her into shock, and she lost her child. Even the doctors had said that she might be unable to recover from her shock, and she might never be able to carry children. But those where only assumptions. She knew Aoi was strong. This time, she would be the one to comfort her, to stay with her. She would be Aoi's pillar, and get to the bottom of the incident as well.

"Yuuka, do me a favour. Can you ask around the palace? Especially those who were in the garden at that time. Perhaps they had seen something, but didn't dare to say it."

The servant nodded, bowed and left the room.

Shinji stomped back to his room, and slammed the door shut with a loud bang. He sat down beside his table, and with a swipe of his hand, pushed everything off his table. Scrolls and stationaries littered the floor, and the undried ink spilled all over the carpet. He paid no heed to them. The pain of being humiliated were still fresh to him, and being a man with a high ego, he couldn't just let things go like that.

"That fucking old man!" he cursed, and picked up a scroll, throwing it towards the window. "Acting all high and mighty. For what?! When you piece of shit dies, your throne belongs to me! The kingdom belongs to me! Everything that you once had, would be mine as well!"

He stood up, and tore a curtain down, which caught onto the corners of his bookshelf, and more scrolls dropped to the ground. One landed on his foot, and he roared in rage, kicking the scroll away.

"I am the best! The smartest, the most handsome man ever to be born! Why won't he just see that?! Threatening to take away something that's already mine?! In your dreams, old man. I will prove it to you, that I'm better than you!"

"Stop it this instant, Shinji!" his mother scolded, carefully stepping over a scroll, her face a portrait of disapproval. Shinji whirled around, surprised. He had not expected her to come tonight. "Your father is still angry with you, stop making ore trouble for me."

He balled his fists. "How can any of this be my fault? If that old geezer actually opens his eyes to see things, he would've seen just how good a king I would be in the future. There's no need to wait until he dies. I am more than capable of ruling the country now!"

She slapped him across the face. Her son glared at her, holding his cheek, hatred burning in his eyes. She shook her head. It pained her to raise her hand to him, but she had to.

"Are those words that should be coming out of your mouth? All your so-called skills, wisdom, leadership and all that, you read them from books. Have you ever practiced what you've learnt? Yes, you have studied under Minister Kotomine for almost a two decades. But your father has never let you make a decision for the country, not even a small one. Besides, you've never lead a troop before, unlike your other siblings. They could easily overthrow you just with their contributions in the military."

"So what?" he spat.

"You can't even see the picture yet? You want me to put it in blunt words for you? Fine. You are the most useless prince the king has. Do you seriously think you are still the Crown Prince if it wasn't for the words I put in for you every goddamn day? Wake up from your stupid dream, Shinji, and start behaving like a prince."

"Prince is an identity. I am born a prince," he said arrogantly, forgetting the pain in his cheek. "Look at those peasants. No matter how hard they try, they remain as useless half-breeds for their entire life."

Miwako shook her head, sadness bottling up inside of her. "I'm disappointed in you. No matter what I say, you still maintain that kind of mindset. It's up to you. Keep this up, and you might lose the throne due to your own stupidity, and get only a small federal territory with no real power. Or, your siblings who actually become the king would have your head hanging outside the palace walls. Choose your own future, Shinji."

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

A blind man sat on the grassy meadows, his head towards the skies. Even though he lost his sight, he could still see the stars clearly in his mind. He had observed the stars for decades before he lost his sight after all. He smiled, reaching his hand out to try and pinpoint the stars he saw in his mind.

But, he knew the stars had not shown anything for quite a few years. Not since the birth of the Supreme Star all those years ago. Even news from within the palace were scarce, with only three in the past four years. He put down his hand, and laid down, his back feeling the cold seeping through his thin clothes.

He let himself smile. _Soon, the stars would show themselves again. The Supreme Star will shine without fail. That is her life. A burning soul capable of changing the world. A mind the world has never seen before. A godly presence in their palace, and yet they have no idea about it. Calling what I said all those years ago heresy just because the baby born was a girl? Stupidity. The gods will grace and bless whomever they want, regardless of the gender. Hopefully, I may be able to live to the day when she achieves something in this world._

A voice broke him out of his train of thoughts. "Sensei, what are you doing out here? It's cold."

A small figure came closer to him, with a cape in his hands. He helped Kousuke to sit up, and wrapped the thick clothing around his body. In his other hand was a candle, the flame dancing and shaking in the cold, threatening to go out any minute. With the dim light of the candle, one could see that he had a head of orange red hair and golden eyes.

"Shirou, I should be asking you that question," Kousuke said with a smile, reaching out a hand to pat his student's head, but found only Shirou's shoulder. "It's late. You should be resting for your journey to the capital tomorrow."

He sighed. "I know. But whenever the thought of never seeing you again crosses my mind, I just can't…"

Kousuke laughed. "A seven year old shouldn't be worrying about things like this. Have you forgotten what I told you? If Shao Si Ming has the mind for it, your path and mine will converge again at some point. But if not, it's fate too."

"You've been telling me too much philosophy for me to act like a regular kid," he retorted half-heartedly. "But you're right. It depends on the gods. We just have to do our best, right?"

He nodded, and smiled. "That's y pupil. Now, don't go and embarrass me when you reach the capital. Minister Kotomine is eccentric at times, but he is a good man at heart. Keep away from Minister Kayneth though. That man is as cunning a snake. He would go to wherever the profit is at."

"I know, I know, sensei. You've been telling me all these for a thousand times now," Shirou grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"I hope you have a bright future in the capital. It'd be a waste for you to stay here," he said, chuckling. "But note this, Shirou. Trials await you at the capital. But I believe in you. You should too. Follow your heart, and you can never be wrong."

Shirou stood up, and bowed, even if Kousuke was unable to see it. But he knew that his sensei could feel it. "Thank you for everything, sensei. I will not let you down."

He nodded, satisfied.

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

He lifted the goblet once more, putting the cold metal to his lips, feeling the drink scorching his throat, waking him up, wanting him not to feel so numb. The goblet fell from his hands, the remaining wine spilling onto his kimono and the ground, but he paid no heed to them.

"Aoi…" he mumbled. "Rin… I'm sorry…"

A eunuch came into the room, worry on his face. "My king, you are drinking too much," he said, putting down the cup of tea he was holding. "Please have some tea."

He pointed a finger at the servant. "Who are you? Who gave you permission to come in here?!"

"I… I am the Lead Eunuch's disciple…" the servant stammered, lowering his gaze.

Tokiomi stood up. "Oh? Disciple? I never knew he had a disciple. What's your name?"

"Kuga, my king,"

He thought about it, then picked up his goblet and threw it at the servant. It hit him right in the head. But the servant didn't even let out a sound. He merely sank to his knees, pressing his head to the ground.

"You dare?! I have never heard of that name before. Who sent you here with that poisoned tea?!"

"I… I… I don't know. The person covered his face, and muffled his voice," he said to the king, his voice shaking. "Please, my king. Let me go. My family is being held hostage. I had no choice but to follow his orders."

He sat down once more. "Report yourself to Minister Kotomine. He will see to the problem. Now leave my sight."

The servant scrambled out of the room.

"Shinji, you dare?"

_To be continued~_

~FSN~MY~FSN~MY~

**And that's it for now. I'll see you guys again next week.**


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